


awl thee starhz

by planetgenz



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, Adolescent Sexuality, Alcoholism, Angst, Betrayal, Comfort, Death, Drug Abuse, DysFUNctional families, F/F, Fluff, Gay, Homophobia, Hurt, Lesbian, Memories, Mental Illness, Mute!toni topaz, Racism, Regret, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Smut, Therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetgenz/pseuds/planetgenz
Summary: and these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. they're quite aware of what they're going through.~ David Bowie
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. coup d-e’tat

**Author's Note:**

> warning - changes made

_**disclaimer: reader discretion is advised. i do not own the rights to any (song) names/persons mentioned in this story. this is a fictitious representation of events. uses are for entertainment purposes only. all credits to archie comics cast/characters represented..** _

**-**

the town was an eerie one.

**toni** didn't know exactly what that meant when, always, she had been more than unhappy living in this place that was something between a grand village and a tiny town, where the winds whipped back the hoods that covered her face and the air always tasted dry on her tongue.

she'd long thought it a strange irony that the fabulously rich and desperately poor lived within two minutes of one another, but they were eager to put themselves within a distance.

the town was weird.

it was what her grandfather had always said in the last weeks of his life, when pneumonia had gotten to him and made him bedridden, in between rounds of coughing and wheezing he had started talking in the high fever but ever since, those words had not left toni's mind.

the voices were _unexpected._

of a low rumble, babbling with an enormous amount of huskiness to it, though another voice with a hint of more power than anybody who gazed upon the frail body would suggest.

toni fluttered her eyes open, blinking profusely to clear her vision. the water brought her body some relaxation after yet, another long shift last night at the wyrm. it had carried far too on early in the morning which left her filled with fatigue and aching feet.

_"fuck."_ she groaned. the yelling voices reverberated throughout the thin walls of her trailer home and seeping into her ears.

as usual, toni tried her best not to listen, but the almost incoherent yelling of broken _uké_ language pulled her attention to the arguing - probably fighting - psychotic couple.

"bro, you hear that shit?" **sweetpea** questioned.

he quirked one of his bushy eyebrows up, popping a corn chip in his mouth and grinding his teeth down on the crunchy food as he listened - unashamed - to the screaming just outside the trailer home.

**fangs** nodded. "sounds intense."

he rested his leather clad arms on the handle bars of his motorbike before laying his head down, desperately trying to drown out the shouting coming from inside his sisters home.

"should we be worried?" **jughead** asked.

he'd been leaning against his own bike, arms crossed with a look of surprise on his face because he clearly - most definitely - did not expect to hear this at toni's home. the girl was calm, almost sweet in a deadly way.. surely this isn't how she lived. but then again, everything is unexpected when it comes to living on the southside of riverdale.

"not now." fangs responded. "not now, we shouldn't worry."

jughead nodded his head. he trusted fangs, and figured that he had years upon years of friendship and sibling bonding to know if toni needed help or not.

turning his attention towards the muddy ground beneath his worn out converse, the yelling lingered in jughead's ears where it seemed to force him into a bottle of repressed memories of his own broken home.

"if toni doesn't come out in the next five minutes im going in." sweetpea spoke, his tone growing agitated.

jughead looked up from the ground to see that sweetpea's eyes were trained on the trailer door. as if he was contemplating on going in and dragging toni out by her pigtails himself, or to remain right outside where the yelling seemed to grow louder and louder by the second.

but sweetpea's patient was running thin, and that all too familiar itch in the middle of his palm began to annoy him.

so he gripped his handlebars until his knuckles practically turned white while his face burned a bright shade of red, even the tips of his ears seemed to glow red.

jughead frowned, looking between fangs and the trailer door. over to fangs, who was seemingly not worried about sweetpea's comment. then back to the trailer when more screaming erupted from some woman.

he sighed. "im sure she's fine."

toni rinsed the last bit of soap from her body just as the water had finally gone ice freeze cold and felt like she just plunged her body into the depths of sweetwater river in the middle of winter. she shut the water off and got out. with her towel wrapped around her body, she slightly stumbled out of the bathroom and into her room - shutting and locking the door afterwards just in case her uncle's crazy girlfriend decided to barged in on her ass naked to demand a crumbled, old cigarette.

so she dressed fairly quickly, occasionally ignoring the arguing couple just a few feet away from her as she pulled on her favorite band tee shirt and a pair of black jeans. she took her hair out of its braided pigtails before ruffling its strands until it fell down appreciatively in brown and pink waves. she zipped up the side of her newly bought combat boots, threw on her serpent jacket and grabbed the rest of her belongings before exiting her room just as her uncle's girlfriend - who was half naked, only wearing some skimpy faux lace white robe - stormed out of the trailer, muttering curse words.

"YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD!"

the three boys jumped as the screen door slammed open and smacked against the side of the trailer. they watched with a frown and wide eyes as **jenna** came marching out - in little to no clothing. the older woman stopped in front of the boys, closing her robe whilst crossing her arms to prevent the wind from opening it as she starred at them.

"hi, boys."

she sighed, plastering on a reassuring smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"toni's almost ready."

so they nodded, nerves unsettling and sealing the obvious awkward tension around them in this confined box of unspoken secrets as they looked between each other.

jenna shook her head. "look.. it may sound bad, but really it's nothing."

words of comfort.

yea right.

bullshit.

broken home.

fangs narrowed his eyebrows at the brunette woman he's practically known his whole life. "that didn't sound like nothing."

the woman shrunk under his hardening gaze, one she's seen plenty of times before. "no-..."

"jenna, i swear if he is putting his fuckin' hands on her-.."

"he's not!" jenna practically shouted, eyes wide. "he's not, okay."

again, words of comfort.

yea right.

bullshit.

broken home.

jughead and fangs looked at each other, eyebrows furrowed and faces hard.

sweetpea was still glaring at jenna.

and if jughead wasn't so observant, it looked like he was killing her over - and over and over - again with his eyes. and like hell would he ever let sweetpea put his hands on a woman, whether she deserved it or not.

"pea?" jughead called, voice wavering a little bit as he looked back and forth between the older woman and his friend. he cleared his throat. "sweetpea, back off!"

"i am backing off." he grumbled, darkly. "just get toni out here and we'll be on our way."

jenna looked at the young boy in slight fear. his fathers eyes. she thought, before shaking her head. she needed a cigarette.

toni looked towards her uncle anthony. his eyes were bloodshot red and filled with utter rage as he attempted to light the crumbled cigarette between his fingers.

she heard him curse and almost offered to help, but knew his temper was on a hair-trigger. the smallest of things would have him flying into a fit - yelling - saliva spitting out and onto her face with each jagged word.

but toni couldn't watch him struggle. so she sighed and grabbed the lighter from his shaky hands ever so softly in attempt to calm her uncle's bouncing nerves. her thumb quickly slid across the motor a few times before she brought the fire close to his face, igniting the cigarette plain and simple. she looked on as her uncle sat back in her grandfathers chair, inhaling then exhaling smoke from the side of his lips, but made no attempt to wipe the fallen ash from his clothes.

suddenly, his brown eyes caught hers and he snarled. "women. so fucking difficult."

her jaw flexed, keeping her gaze upon his as he continued to smoke. she could see the anger slowly rising in his orbs, the clenching and unclenching of his jaw with the tension in his shoulders as he slowly breathe in and out - in and out, in and out, in and out.

after a few more seconds, he looked away and toni cleared her throat.

"you should get going. don't wanna have you late on the first day. and don't.. i mean don't, do anything fucking stupid." anthony murmured, as he pointed the cigarette to his niece.

"you may be silent, but you're a smartass and you know it."

swallowing her spit, toni smirked to herself. she was nothing but a silent, deadly smartass that got off on throwing people for a loop.

especially when it came to voicing her thoughts.

"be nice at school, toni." jenna said, a knowing expression on her face once toni came outside.

toni nodded, bored with the woman and conversation already as she shuffled back into the trailer.

_"she's so fucking pathetic."_

toni wasn't surprised to see sweetpea and fangs, and now jughead, were already waiting outside for her. they have been for the past eight years - expect for jughead - and were most likely here for the last ten minutes just sitting on their bikes.

"uh.. everything alright in there, tiny?" fang's asked, motioning his head to where the window was.

toni shifted her head to see what he was getting at, only to see that her uncle had been starring out the window. his hardened gazed fixed upon them before he looked away and let out a cough, obviously embarrassed from being caught.

she looked back at the boys, sighing and nodding, hoping that they'd just drop it. this isn't the first of many and most definitely won't be the last.

"first day at this preppy shithole."

his grumbling could be heard from where toni stood on the steps and she grimaced.

"it's not really that bad sweetpea." jughead mumbled.

toni scoffed in response.

she rolled her eyes at the thought of the standardized american high school, where you were either apart of them or outcasted and bullied by them.

but she couldn't help the amusement settling in her chest at the fact that she'll finally be able to get the real high school experience and proper education, with real discipline and opportunities. not the gang life she was thrown into at an early age where it was to kill or to be killed.

toni hopped down the steps and towards her bike that was parked just underneath the seal of her bedroom at the side of the trailer. she straddled it, shoving her key into the ignition before kicking it to life.

toni felt the bike rumbling beneath her ass, a slight smile gracing her glossed lips as she rubbed the handlebars of late her fathers bike the serpents had gifted her.

_"alright, antoinette."_ she chided herself. _"now is not the time to get all sappy and shit."_

the ride was short, considering riverdale high was almost touching southside grounds by fox forest.

they stopped their bikes by other southside serpent teens, surprised to see them waiting patiently and nodded towards her respectfully.

toni yawned as she looked towards the building. her face void of any expression, except fatigue in her eyes, but nevertheless still mesmerized.

"get a load of this crap."

like something out of a netflix teen rom-con movie, riverdale high school was apart of the cliche. the opening field was surrounded with action - footballers playing catch, loud playing band instruments, girls in skimpy cheer uniforms and of fucking course... the social groups sitting in their respective spots and keeping to themselves.

the _'welcome southside high'_ banner hung just above the schools double door entryway. it was large, but crooked and poorly executed.

_"nice to know how they welcome the poor."_ toni quirked an eyebrow.

"let's just get in there." fangs mumbled, but it was heard clearly as he un-straddled his bike.

toni followed suit, reaching into the hidden compartment just beneath her seat to grab her backpack. she flung it over her shoulder, another yawn escaping from her mouth but this time with a little gasp escaping.

"damn, tiny!" sweetpea called. "this is like the millionth time you don' yawned."

"she was at the wyrm early into this morning." jughead answered.

she threw the boys a bored look, though scolded jughead with her eyes because she didn't like anyone telling her business.

she sighed. _"anyways.."_

toni rolled her eyes at the whispers. she could see their eyes following them and practically felt the thick and awkward tension flowing off the northside kids' as the small group of selective serpents waltzed towards the building.

_"ugh! as if they've never seen a serpent before."_ she groaned.

and if toni was new to town, then she'd definitely guess that these kids have never seen a serpent or just a southsider, at that.

which is a pretty shitty thing considering the southsiders' are half of this god forsaken town.

but it wasn't like she didn't expect this though. southside trash coming to infiltrate the greatness of riverdale high - the school with pep - just leave out its twisted acts.

"welcome!"

toni could barf.

of all the people that could have greeted them it just had to be **veronica,** and her blonde bimbo best friend **betty,** and some boy that toni vaguely recognized.

they stood, smoothing their hands over their clothes before they motioned to the table full of organized papers with faux smiles on their faces, but anyone could see the nervous looks in their eyes.

_"this is hella awkward."_ toni crossed her arms, appearing nonchalant and watched as veronica took a deep breath.

"on behalf of riverdale high's student body presidential facul-.."

CRASH!!!

there was commotion somewhere in the distance which turned heads. someone had flipped over a trash can, spilling out all its contents including some yogurt that was now splattered on the sleek floors.

_"was what was the reason?"_ toni questionably thought, her face scrunching up before it went slack again.

then toni noticed a flock of those cheer girls in skimpy uniforms and what looked to be the football team on steroids following behind them.

she grew a little interested.

it was the cliches.. she named them, they were walking - no, marching - down the narrow hallway, no doubt trying to appear tough. and toni could only laugh because she had her switchblade and vaseline ready.

"stand down, eva perón!"

from the crowd came a figure. _"oh my god!"_

in this world of darkness, a bright light looking ready to raise hell had shown and all toni could see was red - red hair, lips, clothes, heels, nails - against creamy white skin that struck out like an irritated pimple against clear skin.

_"you've got to be fucking kidding me."_

toni knew that face.

she knew the girl with that face very well.

memories of last summer attached itself to the forefront of her mind, and all the serpent could think about was getting down with the same redheaded chick that stood before her today.

unintentionally, toni bit her lip as her eyes traced over those long legs, curvy hips and slim waste. toni's eyes roamed over a busty chest of round globes, then up to a slender neck attach-...

veronica snarled. **"cheryl,** no one invited fascist barbie to the party."

_"and i-.. oop."_

toni stifled a laugh. the comment should've been offensive to the redhead - it wasn't - and toni was amused when the redhead gave a fake smile to the latina girl.

toni rolled her eyes at the obvious fued going on between the two girls.

"well, lodge.. no one invited southside scum to our school."

_"excuse me? who the fuck-.. never mind, let it go."_

toni dismissed the comment, she knew it was bound to come up sooner or later.

"cheryl, plea-..."

"silence cousin betty." this cheryl ordered.

toni raised an eyebrow, a slight but present to the eye smirk forming on her glossy lips.

_"she's different."_

toni's eyes roamed cheryl from head to toe, unashamedly.

this cheryl that was in front of her, eyes narrowed in stunned horror.. wasn't the one she'd remembered.

oh, how times must've changed.

but then again, that night.. she only knew her name.

"listen up ragamuffins." cheryl spoke, demanding attention in that high class way. "i will not allow riverdale high's above average gpa to suffer because classrooms are overcrowded with.. underachievers."

cheryl looked at all the serpents as she spoke, making eye contact with each person and making them feel that she was talking just to them, and ending with toni where she thinks, _finally,_ someone worth her time has appeared and a thrill runs through her as she leans forward, innocently batting her lashes.

toni scoffed.

she should've expected it though. southside high had pretty much become the breeding ground for drug addicts and gangsters, of course this girl was worried about her already promised future.

"what the fuck did you just say?!" sweetpea growled.

the rustling of combat boots and scrunching leather followed afterwards. toni threw her shoulder back into his stomach, stopping him from stepping forward, also to stop some other serpents from storming over to cheryl and tearing her to shreds.

she shook her head.

if it been anyone else - anyone! - toni wouldn't mind sweetpea ruffing them up for talking smack, but this redhead.. this high class bitch had toni simping in less than three minutes.

cheryl's eyebrows rose, her eyes jumping around the group of serpents being held back by a _wait..._

she paled.

cheryl recognized the pink hair before she saw the face.

she remembered the feel of soft, insistent hands moving over her as that very same hair tickled at her skin, soft and plush, dancing across her body that made cheryl shudder and blush red just thinking about that hair between her fingers; _gorgeous_ and _sweet_ and _perfect._

cheryl tried not to stare too hard at toni, but it seemed almost impossible.

it had been a one time thing that happened the summer before junior year and would leave cheryl with the biggest heartache she'd ever known.

she was merely.. thrown for a loop.

cheryl's heart was thumping from the memories even before they rose to the surface of her brain.

this girl, with pretty bambi brown eyes that drew you in, and her looks that turned both boys and girls heads.

this pauper, who was the first woman to tempt cheryl to give into her feelings; taking her apart and placing her back together again a new lady.

or the same, only with a new set experiences.

this _serpent,_ who cheryl had dreamt about in the weeks following their single night together and who she'd never truly expected to see again, though she might have let herself hope for.

  
this goddamn universe.

toni gave a little incline of her head that cheryl wasn't sure if she imagined or not.

no one had ever dared to stand up to her.. well besides veronica but that victory was short lived back in sophomore year.

shock, cheryl reasoned. not expecting anyone like the pinkette to even be apart of something so filthy as the serpents, yet here this tan petite beauty was getting in her face just as cheryl got into theirs.

oh, how things must've changed.

she didn't think she'd ever see her again.

cheryl pursed her lips at the familiar thump in her lower regions. her head filling with deviant thoughts about the gang member, because she was so small, so adorable.. cheryl thought to just gobble her up.

but she was a lowlife, and cheryl didn't associate herself with those.. no matter how fucking fine they were.

instead, she mustered up as much self righteousness left in her body to plaster an amused smirk on her red lips.

"mm.. queen of the buskers', i assume?"

though her tone was sweet and her smile was inviting, toni could see that there was a cunning look in her eyes. like she was taunting the smurfette's initiation to have reason as to why these barbarians shouldn't be welcomed into her school.

cheryl was still speaking; her voice held an edge that sounded unfamiliar to toni's ears, and then she laughed and a shiver went down toni's spine.

she remembered that laugh, though it had been deeper and much more raspier when she'd heard it; dirtier.

toni blushed at the memory of cheryl's breath against her skin as she teased her to oblivion, remembering the promise in her voice when she'd asked toni if they wanted to get out of there.

_"oh yes."_ toni breathed, her gaze sliding over cheryl's body, only stopping when her eyes reached the redheads again.

she remembered that she had wanted that very much.

cheryl took a confident step towards toni, a fake serene smile spread across her lips, a secret slyness hiding in the shadows of her words.

toni bit the inside of her cheek, desire pushed into the back of her head. she wanted to mess with the redhead, to throw her off that white stallion cheryl was perfectly perched atop just for the sake of it.

because toni felt like it.

because she was eager to see if she'd read cheryl's body language correctly.

but most of all, because cheryl didn't get to treat her like crap.

though the last time toni saw cheryl was so heavily anticipated and hard on, it was not the strongest memory she had of her. the girl she saw that night was merely a ghost in a shimmering red dress, the outline of someone she thought she had all figured out but soon - now - learned she didn't.

toni upped her head to keep her creeping smile at bay when she felt jughead nudge her slightly, probably trying to get her to stand down. she ignored him. as per usual.

instead, with a mischievous glint shining in her brown orbs, toni lowly chuckled to herself.

the sound of fangs and sweetpea snickering only fueled her mischievous intentions.

no one sees it right away, but cheryl internally panics when toni takes a slow step forward. her body going rigid as the thump of toni's combat boots echo in her ears. it was powerful enough to get those skimpy cheerleaders behind cheryl to take a step back and for the northsider kids' standing around them to hold their breath, wondering what this five foot two serpent girl was going to do to their beloved queen.

toni took another step, then another and another and more until she was close to cheryl. so close that she got a whiff of cheryl's expensive chanel n°5 perfume. and if toni wasn't so dead set on trying to one-up cheryl, then she would've noticed the way her perfume made her head swirl. how her full lips parted ever so slightly to let out a light pant. how the redheads eyes seemed to darken as they danced over her face and kept flickering up and down.

toni realized, without a doubt that cheryl's body responding to her nearness and gave the redhead a wry smile.

cheryl visibly paled.

reaching into her serpent jacket, toni almost missed the way cheryl slightly wavered and she paused to give cheryl a few moments to gather herself as her fingers wrapped around the crumbled cigarette she managed to spike from her uncle the other day and slowly, but surely brought it between her glossed lips, satisfied when cheryl's eyes followed her every move.

"um, you can't smoke in here."

someone from the crowd yelled at betty to SHUT THE FUCK UP! and the blonde snapped her jaw shut - deciding it was best to watch than to intervene as basically everyone recorded.

toni reached into her other pocket to retrieve her lighter. she let her eyes falter just a tiny bit from cheryl's hateful, though beautifully dark brown ones. the fire came up for the second time that day, and toni slightly smiled as her cigarette was ignited.

the quiet hallway was filled with sharp gasps. the northside kids' first time witnessing someone challenge the authorities by smoking on school grounds.

cheryl's nostrils flared, fire beginning to seep back into her dark eyes as she narrowed her eyebrows at what she claims a beautiful piece of trash in front of her.

the harsh smell of cigarette smoke evaded her nostrils, causing her to grimace.

toni lifted her head higher, tilting her chin just a bit closer to cheryl's tightly shut ruby red lips and unexpectedly let out one small puff of smoke into fascist barbie's face.

_"gotchu."_ she grinned triumphantly when cheryl coughed almost spit flying violently.

there were more gasps; some sharper this time like they were grasping for limited oxygen and toni thought she'd heard a scream in the background, but couldn't be so sure.

she rolled her eyes. _"so fucking dramatic."_

toni stepped back, dropping her unfinished cigarette to the floor then spat on it just by cheryl's red louis vuitton heels.

cheryl shrieked, body stumbling back into one of the football players toni recognized as **reggie.** he'd been second in line, watching with the creepy grin of his that only grew at having cheryl in his arms.

the redhead looked up at toni in disbelief. her eyes glancing back and forth between the serpent girl and the cigarette spit just inches away from her expensive heels, her face contorted in horror.

toni shrugged, sheepishly. _"so much for not being nice."_

there was a chorus of "oh my gosh!" around them, and toni had time to blink herself out of this little bubble that she managed to insert herself and cheryl inside.

"okay, why don't we all just take a breather?" veronica intervened.

just then, a heavy set of combated footsteps padding down the narrow hallways. toni felt someone yanking on her serpent jacket before she stumbled back into the row of lockers just as some bald guy in a suit toni presumed as the principle came barreling down the hallway with the mayor and schools security hot on his tail.

_"oh great!"_ toni rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. _"the chivalry is here to save the day."_

"what in the hell is going on out here?!" he barked, black beady eyes glancing around the students.

the silence was deafening. students casting their eyes to the ground as they nervously bit their lips.

"those filthy serpents started it!" someone yelled, causing all heads to look that way at whoever. "look even one of them brought a cigarette into our school!"

the point was casted downwards, all eyes looking at the cigarette spit.

_"here we go."_ toni sighed.

the principle looked towards the small group of serpents, narrowing his eyebrows at them as he looked down to the cigarette spit. and toni visibly saw his jaw clench.

"detain them!" he ordered. "no southsider or serpent is to be released until they are fully searched of any criminalizing possessions."

there was a chorus of groans from the southside kids as the security stepped forward to detain them.

the principle then turned to his students. "as for you all, get to clas-..."

the ear shattering sound of the school bell reverberating throughout the narrow hallways, cut him off. he sighed frustratedly, eyes closing briefly before opening again.

"your all tardy." he said, looking to the serpents. "and you can thank your newfound classmates for that."

then stalked off down the hall and disappearing around the corner.

"get off of me!" cheryl suddenly screamed, elbowing reggie in the gut.

she scrambled to her feet, chest heaving up and down as reggie doubled over in pain. she took one last glance at the serpents, specifically toni. and if the pinkette wasn't mistaken, then she noticed her eyes darken before cheryl abruptly turned around and stalked off.. heels clicking away while the vixens followed after her.

the police proceeded to gather up the serpents.

_"touch me if you want."_ toni glared at the officer when he tried to go for her arm.

the officers escorted the serpents towards the gym, a huge difference toni noticed compared to southside high.

there was no being stopped at the door where a dozen police officers searched them. instead riverdale high had packed them all inside the spacious gym where rottweilers quietly sniffed them out for any possessions. and instead of everyone rushing to get through those metal detectors, everyone waited patiently in three individual lines.

_"all of this over one cigarette?"_ toni thought, eyes scanning the many officers.

"are you fuckin' happy, toni?" jughead grunted.

she smacked her lips. turning around to ignore him. _"prissy boy. too much northside in his veins."_

"ayo, watch it." sweetpea defended. "i didn't see you trying to stick up for us."

_"us."_

toni sighed.

"and for reasons like this." jughead responded, glancing around the busy gym. "is this what you wanted? to get searched every day like we're back at southside high?"

_"southside high."_ toni remembered, though she was hardly ever searched since she had a good track record, but regardless.. it was an invasion of privacy.

but what did jughead want her to say?

_"im sorry for sticking up to some prissy white bitch that thinks she can talk to us anyway?"_ toni scoffed. _"well newsflash, jonesy boy.. im not some sitting duck."_

"at least she fucking did something!" fangs argued back. "you're supposed to be our serpent leader, yet all you've done is cause chaos. first with tallboy, those crazy northside kids, the ghoulies.. who's next? penny peabody? god! you're a fucking clown jughead jones."

toni nodded her head at what fangs had to say.

"that doesn't fucking matter anymore." sweetpea said. "it's over. you can clearly see we were going to get searched anyways."

sweetpea was right. toni noted. glancing around the gym again to see that everything was organized.

she turned back to jughead, cocking her head to the side.

"damn." jughead mumbled, glancing around the gym, eyebrows furrowed before looking down at toni with a soft look. "sorry, i-.. sorry."

she shrugged before turning back around.

fangs scoffed. "did you really think they'd let us in here without being searched? so regardless if we were at southside high or not.. **we're still southside serpent scum."**

toni stepped in between two officers, raising her arms up while spreading her legs apart. she stood still as they ran the metal bars up and down her body before a loud beep rang out.

the officer looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

_"idiots."_ she huffed, raising her shirt to reveal a belly button piercing.

she wouldn't go any further than that.

the officers coughed, clearly embarrassed for having a seventeen year-old girl show herself in front of them.

"name?" toni looked down at them. "i said name, girly.. can you hear?"

toni scrunched you her face.

"antoinette topaz." fangs spoke up behind her.

the officers looked at him, eyebrows raised and questions in their eyes though they decided against it.

they checked her backpack, hands ruffling around her notebooks and whatnot.

"table to the left, r through v." they shoved the backpack into her chest and pushed her aside to search jughead.

_"ass."_ she grumbled, shuffling over to the table in search for her paper.

she found it fairly easy, picking up fangs' too and going over to get sweetpea and jughead's just as they came up behind her.

"that wasn't so bad." fangs muttered, taking his paper from toni. "they could've searched us like they did at southside high."

which was a lot worse by the way.

"i guess you can say we got off easy." jughead shrugged, eyes dancing over his paper. "despite what you did toni, we're lucky weatherbee decided to detain us all instead of just one."

_"whatever."_ toni looked over her schedule.

"can we all just agree that we got lucky?" sweetpea grumbled, clearly fed up with jughead trying to bash his best friend, although toni was just ignoring him and wondering the halls.

"this is my stop." fangs spoke, looking at the numbers on the wall with wide eyes. they could hear a distant chatter coming from inside the classroom.

"better get in there then." jughead suggested. "weatherbee is big on tardiness, he hates it."

_"so why did he say everyone was tardy if he-... never mind."_ toni shook her head.

fangs nodded, looking down at his paper then up at the door again. he huffed, looking back at them. he looked at toni.

"you'll be alright?" he asked. "that shit you pulled with red needs to be a one time thing, today."

toni instinctively gripped the paper in her hand, feeling a burning sweat start to gather at the back of her neck as her eyes focused on the black ink and clouding over, her brain jumped to the blinding lights of that night.

an almost sick feeling started to settle in the pit of her stomach, because why oh why?! why was this seemingly her life now? running into a one night stand almost two years later. then again, they never shared names just kisses and touches on the dance floor of the club before cheryl was dragging her towards door, shoving her in the car and fucking her senseless.

the memory, as hazy as it was until now, still made toni's toes curl in excitement and her biggest regret was leaving early and not leaving her number at least.

but, that was so long ago, cheryl probably doesn't even remember her because she was just some drunken stranger and besides.. it seemed as if the redhead against her anyways.

toni waved him off. _"of course. when am i not? plus, i'm not scared of her."_

fangs was okay with her answer, knowing she could hold her own. he's learned from experience. fangs shrugged, saluting them goodbye before disappearing into the classroom just as the others started to walk away.

"matter of fact, we all should just get to class." jughead said. "im in newspaper for first, what about you?"

toni scanned her paper again, eyes scrolling through her classes scattered throughout the building.

_"they have a three-hundred fucking hallway?!"_

"ap bio." sweetpea read off her paper. "smartass. i got astronomy. who the hell wants to learn about the stars and shit?"

"lots of girlies into zodiac signs." jughead wiggled his eyebrows.

_"gross."_

the ringing of the bell signaling the end of first period rang. classroom doors opened, students gathering in the hallway and shuffling around them as loud chatter sounded around them.

"i guess that's our cue to leave now?" sweetpea said. "no more shit, toni."

toni nodded absentmindedly, eyes still on her paper as she searched for her second period room number.

"need me to walk you to class?" jughead asked.

toni shook her head.

"alright. no more battles with cheryl. whatever the hell she says, just let it be." he said, then whispered. "god knows nothing hurts her ego more than being ignored."

toni hummed, tucking that piece of information away for later use as she motioned sideways with her head.

_"im leaving now."_ she silently told the boys.

they nodded, bidding her goodbye and watched as she turned, disappearing into the crowd of rowdy students with her serpent jacket sticking out like a sore thumb.

**-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally, i wasn’t going to post this ‘til the new year but i thought “why not.” so here it is. also, this will be the last time i unpublish this fanfic and will just continue on with it. changes have been made, stories and characters altered to fit the semi-new but original version seeing as though i’ve located the rest of my drafts where toni and cheryl did know each other from two summers ago because i felt it was important for both their characters and those surrounding them.
> 
> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> btw, not sure when Take Me Home will be updated, it’s taking a while to be rewritten.
> 
> i’ve recently come to terms that i like writing choni in the adult universe instead of high school.. and that’s what i’ve been focusing on these last months.
> 
> enough of this though, stay tuned!!


	2. shock & awe

_**disclaimer: reader discretion is advised. i do not own the rights to any (song) names/persons mentioned in this story. this is a fictitious representation of events. uses are for entertainment purposes only. all credits to archie comics cast/characters represented..** _

**-**

**cheryl** has always liked things a certain way.

she hates change. more accurately, she despises it with every ounce of her being. keeping things the same has always been a constant for her to hold on to. she depends on it, keeping her image a certain way. she has to be seen a certain way, desired a certain way and always, always, remain unavailable.

untouchable.

unattainable.

and she does keep it that way.

as she breezes through her high school's front doors earlier that morning, finally as a junior and on her merry way to becoming a senior in the next eight months, everything is the same as it had been since her freshman year: well except for one thing. her dear brother, _jason_ who was so savagely taken from her before the start of sophomore year where they originally ruled the campus with iron fists and red hair as feeble freshman. but like everything else: head cheerleader, student body president, queen bee, HBIC, etc... remained the same. and most of all, something that has never and will never change is the ever-knowing fact that everyone wants her, guys and girls alike. that everyone wants to be her. and that everyone wants to be in her inner circle.

so seemingly, everything is peachy fucking perfect.

that is, until a girl with rose gold hair and a face to die for stands her ground against cheryl amongst her other savage friends right in the middle of the school corridors.

and in that moment, cheryl knows two things:

she knows her.

she wants her.

but she needs to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

"has some serpent caught themselves worthy of cheryl bombshell's affections?"

cheryl jumped at the sound of her best friends voice in her ear. the boy stifled a chuckle, plucking down in the available cushion beside her on the couch.

"they're like children." she spat. "fucking childish, barbaric and dirty fucking children."

**kevin** shrugged.

"so i take that as a no."

she forces the memories threatening to pull her mood asunder away and evaluates the pinkette quietly as she paints on a new coat of nail polish at the table, penance for once again breaking school rules.

cheryl's staring at her as she slumps back against the couch, finally relaxing her back after days of insomnia and haunted nightmares, eyebrows knit together at the scene just a few feet away from her.

anxiety gnaws at her stomach, but she just stares, gives herself a moment to figure it out before the question is able to force itself from her tongue. she focuses instead on the now. the question that she still has.

the mother-fucking why?

cheryl nodded. "most definitely."

"that girl though, i think her name is **toni..** i don't know, but i feel like i've seen her before." kevin said absentmindedly, lost in thought. "i just can't pinpoint where."

cheryl stiffened.

_toni?_

so that was her name, she thought. nodding in thought, finally satisfied for putting a name to the face that has haunted her since and before. she nodded again with a hum.

toni.

the longing ache to put it behind her and not hang onto it curls around her, pulls her into it.

and cheryl's desperate to give her hungry heart a fix.

a familiar heavy weight had settled in her chest at the time, emitting waves of anger into her body, but were now subsided and left only the painful weight of trouble within her.

cheryl shifts her eyes slyly over to toni, who continues to paint her nails without a second thought or idea of the ruckus her friends are making around her.

"did something happen, bombshell?"

kevin is looking, curiously and cautiously, between them.

"nope." cheryl replies, too high pitched to be believed.

kevin shakes it off, puffing out a small breath and saddles back against the couch cushion also, he doesn't have enough energy or patience for an investigation right now.

cheryl shook her head, pushing the thought and kevin away, when she looks over to see brown eyes heavy with want and mouth caught in a fight between pursing and smiling.

toni smirks and quirks a brow.

and maybe it's irrational, nonsensical - cheryl isn't psychic, couldn't have known that toni was a southsider, let alone a serpent - but the timing... it seems cosmically impossible that this isn't a war horn, a charge of cheryl's cavalry into a long ridden battle amongst the other side of the train tracks.

cheryl, lightning quick, looks away from those eyes.

she wasn't her type.

there was nothing about her that was. this is what she had thought to herself the first time the smurfette came into her view, and it most certainly wasn't a normal thing for cheryl to think about when she laid eyes on a new woman.

not cheryl's type. the redhead liked brown haired women. women who liked to get fancy and go out to eat, who dressed up for no reason or when necessary. women who loved to smile and looked fantastic doing it. women who submitted their power to her, fully understanding that cheryl was above them; not her equal and most certainly not her inferior. nonetheless, cheryl liked a woman who created a nice light space. women, who with their bright and general cheeriness could create a contrast to her dark and somber personality.

and toni was the absolute and utter opposite.

_cheryl hates parties._

_sure, it's a way to sneak out of the house and get away from her mother for a while, but at what cost? loud music, cheap beer, and an ever-lingering plume of weed and nicotine. kids jostling into her at every turn, wrinkling cheryl's favorite shirt._

_the last time she went to one, some slimy senior kid almost threw up on her shoes, which would have been horrific and the only way she'd managed to avoid it was because kevin had scooped her into his arms and pulled her away at the last second._

_"that would have been up-chuckalicious, cher."_

_he laughed, soon followed by a..._

_"please shut the fuck up."_

_in conclusion, parties are terrible and the only thing cheryl might hate more is the people who drags her to them._

_"remind me why we're here again?" she asks as she follows **moose** and kevin down the lane._

_they were just on the outskirts of greendale, a few miles out from riverdale actually and the club was low-key. spectacular underneath the ground, but nevertheless low-key._

_there wasn't even a door to the building, just a quick stop in a small tattoo parlor before the three walked towards the back where a man with various ink had asked them for ID, in which kevin had no hesitation when it came to showing the man obvious pictures of their parents in the nineties before leading them downstairs._

_immediately, the bass from the drag show pounded, reverberating in cheryl's chest, the familiar rhythm washing over her._

_she looked over the scenery, eyes wide and brow already sweating with the many busy bodies out on the dance floor._

_"what is this place?"_

_the lights in the club cast rainbows in honor of pride month across the flawlessly contoured face of a local drag queen lip-syncing her heart out to 'telepathy' with hoots and hollers from the audience._

_glimmer shimmered on the skin of the party goers, glinting and magic under the neon lights and cheryl was no exception._

_she was so easy to spot it was almost funny._

_"it's our place."_

_moose had thrown his arm over her shoulder just as kevin wrapped his around her waist, and they both led her down the stairs and into the crowd._

_"where guys kiss guys and girls kiss girls."_

_a nagging little voice at the back of her head approves strongly and cheryl grinned._

_ yes, cheryl blossom was a lesbian. _

_ she had desperately tried to shelter this during her abusive upbringing, for if her parents were to ever find out that they would be getting two daughters-in-law instead of the one, they would truly be appalled. _

_but, of course, cheryl had her suspicions that her family knew. the way that **penelope** would sneer every time her daughter's eyesight followed a girl's movement with pure adoration, and the way that **clifford** would twist his face into the most hideous snarl whenever the redhead would blush at the television when girls would appear in limited clothing._

_ penelope and clifford blossom were homophobic, fastidious, self-absorbed, materialistic, power-craving pieces of shit, and cheryl couldn't exmphasise that enough. _

_she unabashedly loved drag shows - the rad outfits, outlandish makeup, and sheer dedication involved - and drag queens were the only people allowed to coax her into dancing or otherwise she'd be making a fool of herself._

_after some time, cheryl lost track of just how many sips she had downed in the past hour._

_not enough to render her shitfaced by any stretch of the imagination; her tolerance for alcohol was rather generous in that regard._

_but she did have a delightful buzz going on right now._

_and this was a good thing._

_if her mother ever does find out - and she hasn't completely counted out yet that she is either GPS tracking her or has installed cameras in her room and around town - at least she won't be able to give her a real reason to set out on a warpath and cheryl grinned into her shot of water, easy and genuine._

_with every step through the crowd, cheryl's heart pounded._

_she'd never seen something so.. extravagant._

_something so.. carefree._

_they came to a stop over by a wall, where cheryl had to blink her eyes rapidly to see if she was seeing false._

**_"midge?"_ **

_her fellow vixen/friend was dressed in an emerald green shimmering bralette and skirt set, with her black hair done up, not in typical midge fashion. the asian american girl moved beside her to hug both kevin and moose._

_"i-i didn't know you were-..."_

_cheryl glanced around._

_midge smiled, glossy lips. "i like what i like."_

_that's reasonable, cheryl thought with a nod._

_soon after, moose had passed her a cup with strange liquid. it smelled of tequila and mango, but cheryl couldn't be too sure because kevin was tilting it towards her face and pressing it to her lips, and she parted them upon instinct, gulping down the harsh substance. it burned her throat and chest, but in a pleasant way as it settled in the pit of her stomach. the aftertaste of fruit lingering on her tongue._

_it was good._

_really good._

_and cheryl took a few more sips of the drink, ignoring kevin and moose chuckling. soon enough, she down the liquor and her tastebuds tingled for more._

_"here take this too." midge laughed, holding out her hand._

_cheryl looked down at what was in her palm, two small white stamps with happy faces on them._

_cheryl frowned. "what is it?"_

_"does it matter?"_

_somewhere in the distance, a voice echoing 'no' sounded out and cheryl looked around the busy club. bodies upon bodies, drinking, smoking.. doing anything to feel the high. she wanted to see what it felt like to have fun._

_to be totally and completely carefree._

_cheryl shrugged. "i guess not."_

_she'd knew of drugs like this; jingle jangle, fizzle rocks, spliffs.. etc; and while she's never engaged in the needs of drugs or alcohol during parties - instead leaving that to reggie mantle and friends - but now, as cheryl stares at the stamps in wonder with the flashing lights dancing across midge's hand, she realizes that she'd been totally missing out on all the fun._

_reasoning that's why she was always so uptight and tense whenever everyone else was having fun._

_she ruined plenty of nights that way._

_and refused to ruin this one._

_taking the two stamps away from midge, cheryl followed suit of them and rested the papers on her tongue._

_almost immediately, she could feel them sizzle with wetness, dissolving against her moist muscle as sweat collected on her brow._

_"now you, my fellow friend, are in dire need of a little female attention." kevin insisted with real sincerity._

_moose nodded in agreement. "yes, and there are a lot of available.. lesbian, bi-chicks looking for their next fix tonight."_

_cheryl swallowed the tangy yet sweet substance, like grapefruit, that was left of the acid strips, gulping loudly at the feel of foam in her throat and nodded._

_"wait a sec," midge announced, looking off with a small smirk. "ill be right back."_

_midge left them, disappearing into the crowd._

_"this is greendale cheryl, loosen up." moose said, nudging her a little. "no one besides us is actually from riverdale."_

_he whispered the last word like they were decoding bombs, all discreet and secret, it made cheryl feel a little dangerous._

_cheryl tried to ignore whoever midge was speaking with, but as she chuckled into her empty cup, she felt eyes on her and hesitantly, cheryl looked up from her drink to see honey-brown eyes melting her and cheryl cursed silently to herself that the stranger was so capable of cutting her through with a flicker of her eyes. it looked as if there was something there, behind those brown eyes - as if the stranger was perhaps of a similar persuasion._

_but cheryl wouldn't allow herself to assume a woman's intentions. she never did. and anyway, she preferred a woman who knew what she wanted, and not a woman who needed to be convinced._

_soon, midge sauntered her way over to the trio again._

_"you see her over there?" midge whispered into her ear._

_cheryl nodded._

_"she, is just what you need tonight bombshell, and best believe, you are what she needs at the moment."_

_cheryl had wanted to question what that meant, but with a smile, midge gathered the woman's attention again, and signaled her over and when the woman headed over with all the lovely confidence she seemed to naturally possess - legs waltzing and chin tilted high - cheryl couldn't help but to stare._

_she had long, wavy brown hair that hung loosely to the middle of her lower back and curves that only served to accentuate her natural beauty._

_almond eyes become even narrower as they eye her carefully. then, a nod._

_a hint of a smile._

_they fall silent, just looking, feeling the feelers that have caught on a strange attraction between them align and move towards each other centimetre by centimetre. cheryl's heart is jumping madly in her chest. she has never felt so excited before._

_"this place cheryl, for guys who want to be girls and for girls who want to be guys, it has it all."_

_the sweet sound of midge's voice in her ear had cheryl swaying, blinking rapidly yet slow all at the same time._

_"it's where we belong."_

_cheryl rolled her eyes and smiled at their antics as they made their way over to the bartender, leaving her alone with the mystery girl who danced away like she didn't notice anyone else but herself within the room._

_cheryl didn't particularly like crowds, too many foreign bumps and touches, it set her jaw to clench and her teeth on edge. but she felt drawn to her, drawn to the young girl who seemed so enraptured and content in that moment, a soft grin lighting up her face. she seemed oblivious to the stares she got, regardless of their gender._

_she was an enigma for all it seemed._

_cheryl had to know her._

_she only had to push a little, the intoxicated mass seemed to shift easily with only a little guidance. it wasn't long before she was in the girl's vicinity, only a few knocks before she ended up face to face with her._

_despite seeming so lost in the moment, it didn't take long for the girl to clock cheryl was there, her present smile stretching into a beaming grin._

_"you seem really fun at parties."_

_she got no answer, a small smile and left the mystery girl to her own pleasures, watching her dance. hips moving, stomach clenching as small hands explored the body that cheryl wanted to reach out and touch.. but as always, she kept her hands to herself and just watched._

_at one point in the night cheryl had found herself alone with the girl she was making eyes with for twenty-three minutes exactly, not that she was keeping count._

_she looked downright beautiful illuminated in purple light._

_"what's your name?" cheryl asks softly._

_she doesn't get an answer, just a small smile and the mystery girl just continues to dance._

_"i-im cheryl."_

_her words are whispered, but spoken loudly enough just for the mystery girl to hear and no one else._

_though she nods, cheryl thinks the woman just doesn't seemingly care to know who she was or who she actually is and for some reason, cheryl can't bring herself to feel hurt because for once - out of all her wishes - no one knows who she is._

_kevin, in the mist of things, hands her and mystery girl another drink before disappearing again and they drink without hesitation._

_another hour passes, and cheryl.. on account, has taken another set of happy stamps and another drink._

_her once straightened hair is sweated out and curled, her makeup and body glitter feeling sticky. her dress is too tight now, suffocating her chest and stomach. her feet hurt, dancing in heels is worse, and she doesn't understand how she walks around during school hours wearing these._

_yet, cheryl dances._

_she's feeling comfortably warm and snug from all the drinks she's had and she knows she should probably have some water now, but not until this song is over._

_it's her favorite._

_dancing queen, young and sweet._

_except she's not seventeen, merely sixteen years old and wounds with wounds._

_cheryl hummed mindlessly to herself as she swept through the crowd, her dark eyes taking in the beautiful colors surrounding her. pausing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. the rushing mix of sweet scents washed over and through her, igniting a blaze of familiar sensations and memories in her mind, cheryl began to sway in time to the tune playing in her mind._

_music played back in her mind, and cheryl allowed the rhythm of those songs to take her over, her body gradually beginning to spin and move in a dance that it remembered, even after her mind forgot._

_she glanced back to mystery girl, her arms were straight up above her head, swaying to the melody, curling and twisting with the music. effervescent glitter shone on her cheekbones, her eyelids and her forearms. a few flecks had been dabbed on her lips and cheryl could see some glitter on her abdomen. sweat beaded on her brow and her upper lip, her neck glistening with it also._

_cheryl wanted to lick it, to taste the salty tang of her warm skin._

_the mystery girls head was lulling back, eyes fluttering closed in a type of euphoria. the girl wasn't a drinker, she hadn't had much and she wasn't one for any other type of intoxication. cheryl could only assume she was on some sort of energy trip of her own._

_her jeans hugged her waist, soft and worn from years of wear but tapered and fitting her just right. her t-shirt was just as threadbare, black sheer._

_a topaz belly button piercing._

_her attire was so simple and yet, she was so enticing, a mythical, enchanting being lost in a tune._

_cheryl couldn't take her eyes off her._

_and she decides.. "topaz; that's what i'll call her."_

_weird name for a girl but she hasn't talked nor made any effort of contact yet, so.. topaz it is._

_anyways, **topaz** bites a plump, swollen lip and cheryl wishes it were her biting it instead. she's enraptured by this woman. this beautiful perfect woman who is feeling her desires and hunting them down._

_this was a new emotion cheryl has never felt, and fuck it if cheryl didn't love it._

_cheryl chuckled at the sight, but couldn't quite seem to pull her eyes away from that captivating woman._

_average height and long brown hair did nothing to describe the image of that beautiful creature - honey eyes that simmered only hinting at the passion that certainly laid beneath._

_the looks she'd given cheryl - they were silent confessions of the experience she had and was willing to share._

_it was all there - in those brown eyes that drifted every so often to the redhead - that desire for pleasure could be seen._

_the pleasure she wanted from an educated woman._

_cheryl could feel a slow throbbing begin between her legs at the view of the gently swaying hips that curved and wriggled into an almost slow, agonizing rhythm._

_oh, how cheryl wanted to wrap her hands around that slender waist and squeeze._

_what had started as a simple point of interest turned more interesting when topaz leaned back a little more, grinning playfully up at the woman leaning over her and cheryl is panting, their mouths almost touching, pining to be kissed._

_topaz didn't say anything with words, but she took a deliberate step even closer, close enough that their foreheads rested against each other and she saw cheryl's lashes flutter for a moment, affection rouging her cheeks._

_or maybe it was the heat._

_topaz didn't move to touch her anywhere else, just leant against cheryl where she had initiated the contact._

_seemingly content, she began to make little shuffles, little sways from side to side with the melody and cheryl's body followed her without thought, breathing in._

_she smelled of sweat, a musky tomboyish smell, deodorant and something sweet. her breath was warm on cheryl's cheeks as they swayed and she brought her hands up to bracket cheryl's head, never touching but an invitation. she waited patiently. cheryl nodded, mouthing a 'yes', so as not to have to shout over the music._

_topaz rewarded cheryl with another secret smile, her fingers finally coming to thread through red hair, gentle and light. never clutching, or demanding and cheryl tried to supress a shiver when she let her nails lightly run over her scalp, but they were so close and touching, she knew topaz felt it. she felt a groan in her chest but clamped down on it. her head nodded forward of it's own accord, their noses bumping and she grinned._

_topaz's fingers threaded through strands of red hair at the nape of her neck, playing and soft. cheryl's chest grew even tighter and topaz began to hum under her breath, along with the melody. cheryl wouldn't have been able to tell if she didn't feel the vibrations through where they connected to each other._

_and cheryl breathed her in once more._

_topaz's mouth began to shape around the words, singing with the artist and nudging her nose with cheryl's playfully._

_cheryl lifted off only to ask into her ear, "holding your waist, yes or no?"_

_topaz's nose scrunched up with her shining smile, nodding._

_cheryl wrapped her hands around topaz's ridiculously, stupid tiny waist and pushed down the want to clutch onto her forever._

_"can i kiss you, yes or no?" cheryl asked, gaze darting from one to the other of topaz's eyes, waiting ever so patiently for an answer._

_topaz took stock of her surroundings for a moment, taking her time to make up her mind. she didn't feel threatened, the other clubbers seemed to keep their distance and she hadn't felt a jostle from someone except cheryl for a while. it was a docile space in that aspect, most people too busy kissing themselves, or so caught up in the music they didn't bat an eye towards them._

_cheryl was so warm, almost hot under topaz's fingers, expression open and doting. her lips waited, a small smile tugging at the corner gently. they were pink and plump and waiting, waiting, waiting..._

_never mind what her hands wanted to do._

_cheryl felt safe with topaz, she felt secure._

_and she smiles, a little in relief, a lot in a way she hopes topaz can draw from it and not look like her world is crumbling._

_but as much as cheryl attempted to act practiced and cool, her body gave away the need that was settled deep from within._

_she was unmistakably aroused._

_and topaz's answering smile was something that cheryl would have imprinted in her mind for years and years to come. ever so gentle, ever so slow, they leant forward. their noses brushed, and their lips hovered before finally slotting together in what cheryl was pretty sure was bliss._

_topaz's lips were hot, beads of sweat there but cheryl couldn't care._

_they kissed! and kissed, and kissed, and fucking kissed!!_

_cheryl coaxed topaz's mouth open, rubbing her tongue against hers. she felt an expel of air from topaz, a hitch in her throat and the corner of her mouth threatened to twitch._

_it was hot, it was wet and it was messy. teeth sometimes clashed, though it didn't seem to deter them. cheryl just kept kissing, catching topaz's bottom lip in hers to tug at with her teeth tenderly, sucking and soothing it with her tongue after. topaz did groan then, fingers flexing and combing in red hair with a little more gusto. the corner of cheryl's lips did twitch this time._

_topaz was taking cheryl hostage - her thoughts, her words, the air from her lungs, the beat of her heart - even from the space between them - and cheryl wasn't even the target, or was she?_

_that beautiful face turned to cheryl again, reading her reactions with a smirking, teasing lick of her lips that made cheryl's head spin._

_cheryl stood rooted to the floor as topaz took the final step that brought their bodies flush, and slipped one hand around her waist while the other to the back of her head, then bent her own head further up until their lips met._

_cheryl made a sound that she'd later deny as she pushed up into topaz's kiss, her body sliding against the shorter girls, and brought both hands up to clutch at her back. the kiss was everything she'd thought about, and more, because it was real._

_"ive wanted to do that since you walked in the room," cheryl said, voice breathless and rough from their kiss._

_their gazes practically melt into each other, their faces so close together that they can draw from each other's breath. topaz has both hands in the red hair, tugging lightly and feeling what it does. the hand still under her arse slips down her thigh, groping just the slightest bit possessively. both of them want to feel that without a layer of clothing between them, they can see it in each other's eyes._

_her lips were on fire, and she kept blinking, wanting to keep her eyes open. it was dark, with a dim, glowing red light coming from somewhere in the room, but she didn't pay attention to them. cheryl didn't think she could if she wanted to. her head was light and spinning, and everything was going way too fast around her; she wanted it to stop, but she also wanted it to continue, to go faster and faster around her, spinning in a never ending loop like a record on a record player._

_her chest was on fire, and she could almost feel her ribs filling and opening, in the split where the left rib and the right rib meet. she wondered if her heart would fall out of the opening that was being created._

_it seemed plausible._

_cheryl felt like she was flying, especially with how light her head seemed, and she never wanted it to stop, ever. she felt elated, yet she also felt sad; she was in love, yet she hated; she felt incredibly uncomfortable, yet she could've never felt more pleasant; she was an unstable bomb, yet she felt as steady as the dead sea. she was everything and nothing all at once - she was the glowing lights that changed color; she was the sequins on the people 'voguing' on the stage; and she was the cloth on her own back._

_her heart was beating faster and faster and faster, and she wanted to stay in that moment forever; for time to just stop moving, for the present to stay the present._

_she knew how fast the future became the present, then how fleeting the present was, how it became the past so quickly it was barely countable for anything._

_she could feel everything and nothing._

_her ears were ringing._

_cheryl briefly noted how her lips felt as they moved in synch with topaz's, and she felt truly psychic._

_she felt electric._

_she felt like she was coming together and falling apart all at once. topaz pulled away, placing her forehead on her own, as if she was trying to get them on the same wavelengths; make them share their thoughts, and be two psychic girls._

_just two psychic girls._

_cheryl kept her eyes closed. her forehead felt like it was it's own lightning storm; topaz's touch felt electric. but all too soon, topaz pulled away, and she was forced to open her eyes and for a moment, glance around the room at the people dancing carefree._

_for a moment, she worried someone would single them out- the two girls kissing! - but no one did. it seemed they didn't care, and she let relief wash over her, moving to dance in front of topaz again; laughing and smiling, carefree, just like everyone else in the party._

_she just looked at topaz, ignoring everything else in the club as she leaned in close to topaz's ear and in a seductive tone asked,_

_"do you want to get out of here?"_

_a twinge of fear went through cheryl at the thought that she may be a little too straight forward. she means, she just met the girl and sure they've kissed but sex is on a whole other level._

_topaz's other arm dropped from cheryl's neck and she jerked her head towards the door, lacing her fingers with the redhead and leading the way._

_they made it out of the club, breathing in the smell of fresh air as they started their trek down the quiet street side and across the road to the parking lot where cheryl had parked a few hours prior._

_topaz catches her around the waist, meeting her in front of the car, and immediately cheryl's hands are in her hair, crashing their lips together in a melody of teeth and tongue and want and need._

_topaz, an animal of instinct usually kept under a careful wrap, insistently walks cheryl back until her legs hit the bonnet. she swallows her low moans, tasting them, savouring them, collecting them and they settle in a low throb deep inside her and spur her on, determined for more._

_she bends, gripping cheryl's thighs, and lifts her onto the hood of the car and the resulting squeak resonates along her spine, and she can't help her own groan in response as she leans in to nip, unrestrained, at her neck, tasting salt and vibrations._

_cheryl's hand is tight in her hair, pulling her in and keeping her while the other scores roughly up her side, where it has slid into her shirt again. one makes it into her bra, and she lets out a ragged breath when cheryl scrapes a thumb hard over her nipple._

_what little façade of gentleness evaporates when she does it again, the sparkling light of the midnight sky glinting mischievously in her eye, off her impish expression - eyebrow and mouth daring her with lopsided piques._

_topaz, meeting her challenge, slides her hands gracelessly up her thighs, hooking her fingers through the thin fabric of lace panties and whipping them quickly down her legs. she catches cheryl's grasp with her own lips, pulls her forward and takes each fresh breathy moan in as her fingers meet slick warmth, and she sets her teasing to motion immediately._

_cheryl's surprise is half the fun - it's in how her hand evacuates topaz's shirt, meets the other behind her neck, needing to hold something. but the groan - free and wild, head thrown back, neck exposed for topaz's nipping teeth, tumbling from her lips and telling topaz of her pleasure as her hips buck - is the most fun._

_this is decidedly un-cheryl._

_the most un-cheryl sex she's ever had, she thinks._

_it's been over a year, and she's been busy in that time, learning, exploring, giving and taking, finding home and fighting loss._

_she's said "no" in bed fewer times than she needs one hand for, but she's never done this._

_never outside._

_never so exposed._

_and maybe it's her imagination, maybe it's because she's also never fucked a woman before, but the rolling hips, the wandering, scraping hands, the way she's absolutely directing topaz's mouth on her throat, taking what she wants rather than accepting what she's given. she loves it._

_she fucking loves it._

_and topaz is on fire for it._

_heat racing to her skin, cheryl's ecstasy is coating her fingers, so surprisingly, delightfully, filthily wet. she slides them down and in, hard, smirks against her skin at the soft gasp. cheryl's eyes are sharp as she drags topaz's face to meet her own by her curls._

_she licks her lips, searching, as her hips meet topaz's pace, and finding how much topaz absolutely cannot hide that she doesn't hate the rough hair pulling, not really at all._

_and when she smirks her own, decidedly more delicate grin, wild heady power in her eyes, and pushes, topaz groans and falls directly between her legs, pulling them over her shoulders._

_their balance, the power she gives and takes - seemingly never quite so wilfully - is making topaz's head swim. her senses are filled with cheryl - taste, smell, touch. it wiggles into her soul, burrows deep into her body and it's all she can think as she fucks and licks and tastes, eliciting rich groans and soft gasps._

_there's a franticness to cheryl's pleasure, a hard and fast no frills pulse running energy emitting from her into topaz, one that hasn't been there before. topaz, in her fog, attributes this to much the same cause as her own reckless abandon._

_the thrill of being caught._

_they are doing this in an open, albeit for all intents and purposes abandoned, parking lot. with cheryl's dress in a crumpled mess, gathered up past her hips and topaz on her knees, breathless and straining to keep up her pace._

_she ignores the muscle pains begging her to stop, focusing her attention instead on the sharp panting rolling from cheryl faster and faster._

_the sweet adrenaline pumping through her urges her harder._

_each passing minute they go unnoticed totting up to more reasons not to give in to the fear, sweet additions to their game. balancing on the edge of absolute scandalisation and unparalleled electrifying pleasure coursing through them._

_topaz has never seen anyone like this before, so wild and unrestrained, insistent and aggressive in her wants. in the times before; when they were dancing, having fun, when she's asked for something, it was almost timid. this is something quite different, something topaz is at the absolute mercy of, something that licked hot and burned a deep throb within her._

_and soon, obscenities explode from cheryl's sweet mouth._

_"fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"_

_spurring her on to fuck harder, lick faster._

_she, in all senses, denies herself reprieve until cheryl's legs squeeze her head lightly and her breathing stops, and she withdraws, panting herself._

_cheryl allows her little recovery, grabbing her slick hand, wrist still aching, and heaving her up to lick into her mouth, tasting herself on topaz's tongue. she melts into it, breathless and wanting._

_the inferno in her blood pounds between her legs as cheryl's noises vibrate into her mouth before the redhead is pushing her back and sliding off the of car._

_they stare at each other, pupils blown in a fit of pure hunger._

_all messy and sweaty._

_cheryl just smiles nervously and jiggles the keys._

_a chirping sound is made, following by a small click and cheryl guides topaz into the back seat, the soft force of her unrelenting._

_her jeans are gone before her back hits the seat with cheryl already between her legs, nipping spikes of electricity straight into her blood. she groans, and cants her hips, searching for anything that might relieve her of the terrible pressure building within her._

_she moans, drawing her hands up to catch cheryl by the backside and force her hips downward._

_topaz was all wet heat, and it had been far too long since she'd had her last fix. she had never had anything as exquisite as cheryl, all silk and softness, which aroused her further, and she rocked upwards a little harder._

_"im not sure what im supposed to do." cheryl says nervously, leaning back while trailing a hand up her thigh._

_topaz didn't grace her with an answer._

_a firm grip came around her wrist, and cheryl looked down to see topaz slowly pulling her arm, dragging her hand to where she needed most.. between her spread legs._

_cheryl shudders visibly, her fingers sliding through slick folds, feeling just how soaked topaz is for her evokes a growl from somewhere deep in her chest._

_for me._

_she can't help but moan when topaz moves two of her fingers, slick from her arousal already, in slow gentle circles, not touching her clit at all yet but still feeling fucking wonderful._

_topaz kisses cheryl desperately, showing her that she likes what's happening._

_topaz's spine arches and she tosses her head back, her hips grinding up into cheryl's touch and she bites down on her lip trying to suppress a whimper as cheryl explores her tentatively._

_"in circles." cheryl murmurs, shifting slightly for a better angle._

_cheryl took a deep breath and focused her movements, flexing her fingers with purpose, intent on bringing topaz to orgasm, entranced by the sight of her._

_bringing her hand up to rest against the centre of topaz's back to support her, cheryl firms the pressure of her thumb on her clit. she soon finds her rhythm by drawing back the hood and switching between rubbing tight circles to flicking the swollen tip, causing an incoherent topaz to convulse around her._

_cheryl feels topaz's thighs tense and has to force herself to relax._

_topaz's mouth goes dry, and she wiggles her legs open as much as she can, but the room is limited._

_she groans, wanting and needing._

_"like this?" her voice is low, grainy and shy, and topaz wants to swallow it._

_she props herself up on her elbows, meeting cheryl's blazing gaze fully. the fire in her eyes is leaping out, consuming topaz and she can only exhale breathily as she bucks her hips, and cheryl smiles._

_"mhmm."_

_cheryl coaxes topaz's moans, pulls them from her soul, each twitch of her fingertips bringing her closer to oblivion._

_her hands clench in fists against the leather seat, needing anything to hold onto, and she falls back just as cheryl watches, she can feel the heat of her gaze blazing her skin as the unintelligible noises tumble from her tongue._

_and all at once, cheryl is inside her._

_"oh!" she exhaled tightly at the sudden thrust, the feeling of fingers curling right there making her twitch with every stroke._

_topaz's eyes slammed shut with a moan._

_she simultaneously tried to lick her lips and swallow, but found her mouth was too dry._

_topaz bit her lip; the faint wet sounds of cheryl's fingers working in and out of her reminded her just how lewd and inappropriate the situation was, bringing her even closer to the edge. she dug her nails into red hair and couldn't help but whimper, stoking the fire low in cheryl's belly and prompting her to pick up the pace again with a groan._

_topaz was grinding her clit against cheryl's palm with every crook of her fingers, her gasping breaths getting shallower and shallower, turning cheryl on._

_"jesus," cheryl breathed, taking topaz in: head tipped back, brow furrowed, tendons in her neck straining and begging for her mouth on them._

_cheryl still couldn't believe this beautiful person allowed her to see her in such a vulnerable state. her muted sighs filling the car; cheryl slowed her fingers slightly to draw the moment out for just a little bit longer._

_she leaned in with a lick, pressing wet kisses to her neck and the hollow of her throat, eliciting another whimper and a grunt, motivating her to ignore the wrist strain and thrust deeper and deeper until topaz arched her back against the seat and came with an unrestrained moan, fluttering around her fingers. cheryl slowed her movements, gently bringing topaz down and pressing small, sweet kisses to her cheek._

_she's so pretty, cheryl thought._

_her eyes swept over topaz's flushed chest, rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath, to the light sheen of sweat visible along her hairline._

_topaz eyes blinked open, gazing up at cheryl with hazy adoration, a slow, breathless grin spreading across her face._

_the intimacy of it made cheryl's chest tighten, and she couldn't help her own grin. the moment was broken when she became dimly aware that the window behind topaz's head was fogged up._

_she glanced around, not sure what she was even expecting to see._

_a cop tapping his flashlight against the window?_

_moose, midge and kevin eating popcorn?_

_someone from riverdale?_

_the ghosts of her dead brother and father peering in?_

_her mother?_

_cheryl gingerly extracted her soaked fingers from topaz and awkwardly held up her hand between them and bit her lip, turning her head to look for a tissue box in the front seat when she felt hot fingers gently encircling her wrist._

_cheryl looked back, eyes widening in shock, to see topaz raising her glistening fingers to her mouth and nonchalantly sucking the slick off of them. she felt topaz's tongue working in between her fingers to get them clean._

_all the moisture immediately left cheryl's mouth and moved decidedly elsewhere._

_topaz released her fingers with a pop._

_post nut clarity washes over them for a moment._

_"do i get to know your name?"_

_cheryl breaks the silence and topaz opens her eyes to stare ahead at the redhead. she blinks, letting go of cheryl's wrist while shaking her head and cheryl nods understandably.. she guesses it's all apart of keeping one's identity safe, especially while in a place like this._

_she knows what it takes for a queer kid to finally accept themselves, though she's still learning herself, cheryl knows that if anyone were to find out about the underground club that it'd be the end of times._

_"okay." cheryl whispered._

_topaz must've sensed the vibe change because soon enough, she started to gather her underwear and pants, slipping them on in the small space of the car just as cheryl pulled down her dress._

_"i uh... c-could give you a ride home, if you'd like. i-i mean, that's as if you even live in greendale.." cheryl finished lamely, reaching past topaz's head to wipe at the condensation on the window with the side of her hand._

_topaz simply shook her head, eyes dark._

_"oh w-well okay, do you want to uh.. i don't know,"_

_topaz cut her off with a breathless chuckle, leaning forward to bump noses before planting a chaste kiss against her lips._

_"shh.."_

_pulling back, topaz gave cheryl another small smile and shifted so she could rest her back against the door with closed eyes._

_she had to leave soon, they both did, but topaz had to be back home before the night changes or she's dead snake._

_sitting up, topaz captured cheryl's attention again while reaching forward to place her hands on top of the redheads, however, there was no sexual intimidation this time. in fact cheryl felt rather comforted by topaz's close proximity as she looked up at cheryl with her soft doe-like eyes, so brown and innocent despite what they had just done._

_"i gotta go." she murmured, biting her lip softly. "im sorry, but this was fun."_

_with her hand on the handle, topaz opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air once again and she breathes a sigh of relief at the fresh air filling her lungs. she doesn't spare the redhead another glance, and she guesses the redhead doesn't do the same because there is nothing but silence in the space between them._

_instead, topaz starts to walk off into the night without a second thought.. leaving an utterly silenced cheryl alone in the car._

the stars that night twinkled like so many eyes, watching each and every movement within and around the woodsy town of riverdale.

they blinked at the girl lying in the short grass along the upper slope of the riverbank, and she blinked right back, her round, soft-featured face momentarily obscured by the lazy, grey-blue tendrils of smoke which curled from the end of her cigarette.

it was almost like the stars shied away from her, dimming ever so slightly.

the moon was half-full in the sky behind her, watching from a safe distance, and much like the northern side of town; wary of her every breath.

this was a untrustworthy town full of scared people, and toni topaz was not widely considered to be a trustworthy person amongst those who saw her as anything other than a criminal because riverdale, new york was nothing short of a sleepy little town.

back in the nineteen thirties, before one of the towns darker moments, it was a dream location for all those broken families looking for some semblance of normalcy after the war. it was picturesque enough; bisected almost straight through the middle by a creek that went northeast to southwest, and surrounded by lush forest and woodsy groves. it had flourished in the sixties and seventies; its population cresting the three thousand mark, the highest it'd ever been.

but then the vietnam war happened and, as wars tend to do, it irrevocably altered the quiet little town.

that pretty little river that cut the town in half became a tainted, geographical divide against the northside and the southside - like a regular civil war, only with no peaceful leader trying to settle its dispute.

the damaged developed their own club after guys started coming back from vietnam, all lost and depressed and fucked up, looking for like-minded folk they could call their brothers, so that they could maybe start to heal and it really was that innocent, for a little while at least.

the southside serpents was started in nineteen sixty-nine by a group of four friends who tried to reclaim as much sanity as they could by focusing their energy and confusion into the world of snakes, motorcycles and clubhouses.

eventually, this way of thinking spiraled out of control and by the late nineteen seventies, the serpents was about eighty members strong, with charters in washington and canada.

the rat bikes and mud snakes quickly became a symbol rather than a lifesaver; a cover, and only a part time passion. the original members were older now; weak in the face of their temptations - like they forgot what they started this for.

they found wealth in drugs and guns and everything else was left in the dust.

in the wake of a sixty year flourishing town, these men now thrived off hysteria and a healthy sense of hopelessness, like they could die tomorrow and jail time became a requirement for admittance by the mid nineteen eighties. to risk everything, even freedom, was to feel alive again.

even toni's father, antonio topaz fell victim to these hostile temptations after such years of poverty, but toni often chose to forget about that.

she didn't like to remember her father like that.

the northside had the council, which, as the name suggests, grew out of distaste for the serpents and after several drug busts and shootouts on the southside as a result of the serpents nefarious dealings, the northside responded by making its own community watch force that they thought would keep everyone safe.

but they were just as selfish, prideful, and reckless as the serpents, and in time, it showed.

vengence reigned with the newfound red circle.

it was all about intimidation; it always had been.

they had the town police in their pocket, and the mayor, and all the council members were either paid off or a part of the game.

either way, the official authority was severely weighted to one side.

the northside.

and while the southside is generally a creepy place, and it would come off as such to anybody that didn't live in it for any amount of time. the second a person crosses the old sweetwater creek bridge that connects north to south, it's like they're entering a whole other world.

one where bushes, ditches, and lawns are often left unruly and uncut; where every other house looks like a crack den.

the pavement was cracked, and the streets badly patched. some of the old stop signs had bullet holes in them, others were knocked down and had yet to be fixed.

it's not so bad, believe it or not; there are parts of the southside that are pretty cool, it just takes some soul searching to find them.

luckily for toni, she'd mapped out every part of the town a long time ago, including the rougher bits. but she did that because she had to.

this town was like a life-sucking demon.

she always felt it would chew her up and spit her out if she didn't stay one step ahead of it at all times.

dark, ruthless but small, toni topaz was an intimidating woman underneath her silent demeanor. although, she didn't tower over most, her glare could scorch the earth, and she wasn't without her fair share of scars. one particularly nasty one; a thin rope of pale, mottled flesh, cut right over her left ribcage, twisted down her stomach and hip, and draped itself around the swell and curve of her lower back.

it had a story behind it - all her scars did.

just not stories she liked to remember very often.

she could be vicious, at times.

absolutely merciless.

people seemed to fear her, like they feared the bogeyman. but she was also charming, beautiful, and cunning.

she had a particular knack for conning people. it made her a very valuable player in a game such as this one, and she had been valuable.

once.

she sat up a little from her reclined position on the bank of the river and from her vantage point, she could see straight down the main road of the southside. there wasn't a sign of life to be found over there. just the streetlights, flickering away, making it look like a typical horror movie.

the signs and some of the buildings across the river were spray-painted over. _junkies BEWARE!!_ and _welcome 2 hell_ were splattered on the side of a large red building that used to be a butcher shop. the speed limit there was apparently _FUCK YOU_ miles per hour. it painted a lovely picture of the southside, and certainly an unabashedly truthful one.

toni's phone buzzed in the pocket of her dad's old leather jacket, and she fished it out to take a look, hoping it was the text she'd been sitting there waiting for.

it wasn't.

instead, it was a text from her uncle. _you're late._ it read; two words and nine letters and she checked the time on her phone; **11:12 pm.**

"shit."

toni hoped up from the ground, dusting off the leaves and dirt from her butt. late. late. late. late. late. toni thinks as she mounts her bike and shoves the keys into the ignition. the light flickers on, engine rumbling beneath her and she kicks the stand back while revving the handle bar to set off down the main road home.

the wind rushed through her hair and it was the most exhilarating thing she'd ever experienced, the adrenaline and freedom that riding her first motorcycle ever gave her besides saving up for that used, beaten up motorcycle and its parts where she spent hours working on, getting it into working condition.

she sees the familiar lights of pops diner come up on her far left, and her stomach grumbled in hunger for a delicious burger, fries and a chocolate shake.

toni was on her way off the bike, when she heard another car pulling up and she couldn't hide her complete paralysing shock when she saw cheryl, right there in the driver's seat, in her familiar red car, parking, and froze, almost panicking.

in the few days since toni had transferred to riverdale high, the redhead seemed to be an intoxicating mix of all and more.

foul-mouthed, quick with her witty comments, obvious emotionally deranged and a void topped off with luscious ginger hair, alabaster skin, full lips and a voluptuous figure.

the sort of things toni would love to strip down and worship.

that she hasn't already.

not only was cheryl an utter bitch, she was also undeniably attractive. it was unfair, someone with one of the ugliest personalities ever had one of the most gorgeous faces.

**jughead** would tell toni that looks didn't mean anything when someone was a bad person.

yet, it still irked toni how she had a difficult time putting into words the difference between the cheryl she'd met last summer compared to now.

it left her wondering, questioning how and why the redhead had changed into something much more complicated.

toni had already knew it had something to do with her being a southsider and a serpent, but toni felt like it was so much more than that. like what did she do to make cheryl so angry with her?

the thought causes an unsettling feeling in the pinkettes stomach as she rides over the bridge and crossing into southside territory, no longer hungry or thirsty for pops but now a curiosity she so desperately wants to solve.

the only question left is how?

**-**


	3. surrender at discretion

_**disclaimer: reader discretion is advised. i do not own the rights to any (song) names/persons mentioned in this story. this is a fictitious representation of events. uses are for entertainment purposes only. all credits to archie comics cast/characters represented..** _

**-**

the town had been asleep for far too long.

that at first, when the murder is a shocking event to the small town of riverdale, it's almost apocalyptic. yet murders are happening somewhere far away, practically in another world. it may be in megacities because vanity, fuss and crowds of big city makes people crazy that murder is a topic for federal newspapers and conversations on social networks, this concerns only freaks from megacities.

but all three thousand, seven hundred and one inhabitants of riverdale are normal people.

though they are quiet, reasonable, sane, respectable and god-fearing with a tranquil way of living.

like the division between the southside and the northside.

because not everyone is a murder or born to kill.. only the ones with sick and twisted lives that were made to be murders.

that's how **jason** blossom had died.

born from the sin of murder.

shot in the head by his fathers own hand, that, not even the whole of the town was in shook.. though some didn't take it too lightly. the news had first came out of his mysterious disappearance on the fourth of july, a few weeks before the start of sophomore year and the beginning of a life changing season for its students.

**-**

let it be known that **toni** topaz had absolutely no interest in sports.

the violence of team sports echoes distant wars. of tribal rivalries that end in the blood of a salted earth. she argues that it's like sucking deep from a half-sliced orange and imagining it as the flesh of your enemies into which you sink your teeth in.

welcome to riverdale.

ladies, gentlemen, undetermined and the strange unnatural, many-tentacled creatures who tune in to the radio show from the spaces between shadows and static that never stop writing disgruntled letters about the decreasing attendance of today's youth at bloodstone circle prayers and chanting sessions.

because it's most definitely that time of the year again.

yes, today is the quarterly high school football match against that terrible team from stonewall prep.

_"ugh! the stonies."_ toni swears they get more obnoxious every time she sees them.

with their english wearing uniforms of plaid skirts, white buttons and navy blue blazers.. stonewall prep was anything but the typical high school dark academia norm. in truth, they were nothing but a bunch of stuck up rich kids.

"why are we here again?" **sweetpea** whined, tugging on his serpent jacket as the four made their way up the metal bleachers littered with blue and gold graffiti.

the four were not used to staying after school unless one of their clubs were meeting or for a tutoring session, but today they had a reason to be on school property longer than necessary.

toni had joined the photography club as an extracurricular to put on her college applications, and for the love of it.

"toni's photographing the bulldogs game tonight." **jughead** gave his answer, pausing a moment to suck in a deep breath of cold air.

sweetpea hummed and suppressed a shiver as he took a seat on the cold metal.

she'd always has a knack for photography, she's been told it a hundred times by family and friends.

but really, she just loves taking photos - selfies - making films, and all that kind of stuff. it's like she can see the perfect shot from a mile away and knows the exact angle for the best lighting. even her phone had so many apps for this, to put on filters or effects, to post or just to save in the cloud. in her gallery, it had a vast variety of great moments of her, her friends, her family, and the serpents.. basically of any and everyone she knows.

this hobby, toni knew as another one, was just as special as the others.

toni let her own mind wander, against the warm solid heat of sweetpea's body pressed against her side and shivered, wishing she'd worn more clothes in this winter chill.

luckily for her, the smell of hot dogs intruded and she started to feel hungry, even though she had eaten before she left the house. the owner of the hot dog was a good few paces behind the scent and revealed himself to be **fangs.**

"wassup, guys," fangs said, and another round of greetings were exchanged, except for jughead who suddenly had his mouth full.

the food disappeared quickly enough, though, and he sat back down next to sweetpea, who had moved on to debate the merits of the opposing team.

"so, jones... football?"

jughead scoffed a chuckle. "never, just here for the blue & gold."

"are you sure it's not because **betty** is prancing around in a too short short skirt with her ta-ta's bouncing around in that too tight shirt?"

that must've caught jughead off guard, toni reasoned. for the jet-black haired boy to suddenly start coughing, inhaling and exhaling sharply the cold air around him and then looking off to fangs with a glare, though the boy just grinned at him and jughead shook his head, refusing to answer.

"the skirt is short on purpose, y'know."

"doesn't seem to be distracting the players," jughead said, sipping the coffee he'd bought from the concession stand. "i'd have thought that would be the point."

toni smirked.

"oh, it's distracting enough during classes on the days when we have pep rallies, believe me," sweetpea said.

"you'll see it more as football season goes on, and then later during basketball season." jughead explained.

"HURRY UP! LET'S GO, LET'S GO!!"

there's always some idiot shouting that. toni rolled her eyes, a few times in the past, it's been sweetpea and fangs shouting on their favorite teams or her uncle punching at the air for the game to pick up. but they're packed in this little tunnel under the stadium like sardines while feeling like young bulls eager to charge the gate. and it's a wonder no one winds up hurt.

she can hear the fans out there, stomping on the bleachers and shouting for their bulldogs. toni feels like it's usually supposed to be such a rush but it doesn't wind her up tonight.

when she glances away, the coach is tomato red in the face, yelling out his last-minute pep talk.

**reggie** is beside him, thrumming with excitement over the upcoming sixty minutes of possible glory, potential agony and certain violence. he bumps shoulders with another teammate but the boy is barely conscious of it.

right now, she's drowning in dark brown eyes and a smile that might be just for her.

she's shaking her pom-poms, her red hair up in a high curled ponytail and pressed up against the wall where the cheerleaders all stand before making the dash out onto the field right ahead of the team.

she's cheering, _'GO, BULLDOGS! GO, GO!!'_ but her eyes don't leave her and they've exchanged more than one unfriendly smile.

but that genuine generic smile is making her belly swoop, and flip and flop more than the knowledge that this game might land them in the playoffs and toni would be forced to travel with the football team and cheerleaders.

they've got AP LIT together seventh period and toni sits right behind **cheryl** because mrs. mordane loves things being in alphabetical order, including her students.

she thinks she's never been happier to have the last name topaz - except there's the naughty thought that if she went by her mother's last name instead she'd sit right in front of her and that might be worse.

"LET'S GO!" someone yells and there's a surge through the assembled bodies, pushing forward.

she watches anxiously as cheryl stumbles when someone knocks into her, and toni has the sudden thought to fucking punch whoever's shoving over there. but she rights herself and takes off running in that little skirt the girls wear, and toni knows she better get her head on straight or she's going to wind up stampeded by those bulldogs before the first snap.

fortunately for her, the _stonewall prep stallions_ started making their way onto the field and toni's ears were assaulted once more.

it didn't stop once they started playing either, for fangs was quick to shout encouragement at the players and jeer at the opposition.

every time the bulldogs scored the crowd jumped up and toni thought she might as well have been invisible.

even sweetpea was getting into the spirit too.

toni couldn't help but be caught up in the excitement, but it might have been easier if she knew what was going on.

it was difficult to concentrate on the game when people stood up in front of her every five minutes and all that told her was that she should have been watching beforehand, not trying to work out what she had just missed.

"did you see that?" sweetpea asked, excitement in his eyes as he sat back down and noticed she was watching him.

_"no, what just happened?_ " she shook her head.

"well, the stonies fumbled and the bulldogs scored from nowhere."

she nodded. _"okay."_

"never mind," he sighed. "it's half-time anyways."

he was right, she discovered, and turned back to the field just as the cheerleaders began to perform. she was sure she had seen at least one of them in her photography class before, which didn't surprise her. however, cheerleading routines were better appreciated by young men but toni wasn't looking for someone to converse the topic with.

preferably a topic that wasn't about football or anything regarding a ball, but sweetpea and fangs were having an earnest discussion about something toni couldn't quite hear and she didn't want to intrude.

everywhere she turned everyone was talking about the bulldogs' amazing plays in the first half of the game, anyway.

fortunately, jughead leaned over and asked, "help me with this crossword?"

toni looked over to see he had a folded up newspaper in his lap, containing a half-completed crossword. it said something about her concentration on the game that she hadn't even noticed jughead wasn't paying attention. or perhaps it was just that he wasn't paying attention to the footballers rather the cheerleaders.

  
"don't you have a bet with betty about that?"

he shrugged. "she's not here."

toni looked over and saw that he was right, so she took pity on him. _"alright jones, what are you stuck on?"_

"up, down, charmed, something."

it wasn't her field of expertise but she had heard of that sequence. _"strange."_

toni took the notepad and pencil away from jughead and began to spell out the word, matching each letter into a box before handing it back to him.

"hmm, yes, it is." jughead's tone suggested that he hadn't understood the answer. "how did you-.. never mind."

she didn't get a chance to explain it to him, she was right, he discovered, and he turned back to the field to watch the cheerleaders perform.

toni stood with her large canon 1DX camera, focused on the field filled with girls wearing blue and yellow. her own apparel not in the same bright hues, but of dark ones. a snap of a picture here and there.

"TIME FOR ONE MORE CHEER! C'MON BOYS FROM HERE TO THERE!!!"

toni was already partially smiling, but as cheryl kicked her leg high up into the air, lapsing with ease back into a twirl, spinning to meet the girls warm brown eyes, a smirk on her face, toni's eyes widened and her jaw slackened.

_"oh.. oh, wow."_

"wow."

toni could barely breath, and the fact she managed to get that single word out was amazing. cheryl was beautiful and sexy and talented, and she is completely infatuated with the redhead, to put it delicately.

cheryl is so beautiful that toni can hardly breathe, and jeongguk just has to capture that beauty on camera. if she's honest, she thinks cheryl blossom was born to be seen through a lens and immortalised in photos.

"LET'S GET DOWN AROUND THIS TOWN!"

cheryl continued, completely aware of what she was doing to the serpentine.

the redhead smirked, chewing on the edge of her lip with her eyes narrowed knowingly, never leaving toni's eyes as she smoothly rolled downward when cheering _down!_ swaying consistently and rolling her shoulders back upward.

"TURN THAT FROWN RIGHT UPSIDE DOWN!"

the redhead's rolling, circling and captivating movements ended with her shooting out both of her toned arms at each side of her at the exclamation of the last word of the cheer in a semi-bow, flipping her hair back and staring at the pinkette, a closed-mouth smile fully on her reddened lips.

cheryl spun, facing away from toni with her hands clasping above her. her head turned back to meet the brunette's eyes again, and was pleased to see the girl still standing there in frozen awe.

cheryl bit her lip, and danced backward toward the serpent, popping movements never ceasing, and toni's eyes flit down to somewhere lower, and once they were there, she couldn't look away from the movements.

_"focus goddamnit."_

before she knew it, cheryl was essentially grinding up against **josie,** hand reaching toward the back of her head, fingers clinging under her dark curls and pushing herself up against her best friend.

josie's own shoulders were swaying, and her ass continued its circling movements as well, right against the redhead's pelvis, and cheryl couldn't help but exhale loudly, throwing her head down with eyes closing for a moment to enjoy what cheryl was executing before her.

she wonders at cheryl.

at her motives.

but she doesn’t want to think the redhead’s cheering for her.

only for her.

so of course she didn't have time to delve on them before sweetpea was in her ear.

"dude, stop drooling. it's gross."

_"fuck you, swanson."_

and she's never been quite grateful for such an interruption in her life. the second half began and everyone shuffled back up the bleachers with newfound snacks and bulldogs' gear in their hands before turning their attention back to the game.

toni stayed downhill to snap the last half of the game.

they weren't far into the second half when it became clear, even to her that both teams were playing completely differently than their earlier performances. while the bulldogs had been scoring, although not often, but when they had it had been spectacular, and the stallions had consistently missed easy shots.

now, however, the stallions seemed to have woken up and the bulldogs were struggling to catch up, and before long.. the stonewall stallions had beat their impressive twenty-one to six score during the third quarter.

after berating the bulldogs for a while, toni had lapsed into silence along with most of the rest of the crowd. she stifled a yawn and pretended not to notice cheryl watching her from afar.

_"she's different this way."_ the serpent notes.

more interesting.

more like she was when they met. before the guilt began to eat away at them and they tried so hard to be different. cheryl slants a look at toni under her eyelashes.

she knows it's ridiculous, too.

knows that there's too much between them for things to ever appear normal of just pure unadulterated hatred.

"DIRTY DOG 18! Ready HUT-" **archie** shouted as the ball was snapped to him.

passing it to reggie, the running back plowed through the defensive line, gaining the first down and the crowd went wild, essentially muffling the announcement of the achievement that came over the loudspeakers.

toni let out a chuckle, her frozen breath fogging up the air.

it was first and just goal.

and it was the perfect moment to freeze in time with the click of a button.

the brown eyed female peered through her camera's peephole to take a snapshot of archie prepping the team for the next play. another shout from the coaches and the play started, toni's rosy cheeks glowing in the frozen air. the photographer snapped a few photos of the bulldogs getting ready to throw the ball when suddenly a line backer of jocks were hurling her way.

toni backed up a bit in panic, until another bulldog had caught it.. tucking and tumbling into coach. saving the ball.

"hey toni! it's cool to see you, how've you been!"

toni couldn't help but to press her lips together at the blues and yellows painted across betty's face as she poked her head out from the line of teens to see the serpent.

she gave the blonde a heads up, small smile and looked out to the players gathered in clumps on either side of the field, one end in light blue and yellow with the other end in navy blue and burgundy. it's in truth that toni didn't understand football, or any sport for that matter. she couldn't even pick out which one was which.

"are you taking pictures for the blue & gold?"

it's cold and **veronica** curls more into her jacket and saddles up next to betty. big block varsity letters spread across the back. _ANDREWS;_ she looks up and across the field when the rest of the crowd begins to cheer.

archie is running across the field with the ball, and, if toni's mental calculations are right, he's gonna make it all the way to the endzone. she puts down her camera in anticipation, taking one lanky finger to press the button when, thirty seconds later, archie's cleats are skidding cross the neat line that defines the endzone with the ball.

"THAT'S MY MAN!" veronica yells and she hears a few light chuckles around her.

she wonders if archie can find her in the crowd, squinting against the bright lights to see the one olive skinned latina with an oversized varsity jacket draped over her shoulders, twin black smears under her cheeks, and jet-black high ponytail blowing in the light fall breeze.

the cold, mid-november night stars lit up the skies. the twinkling objects flew high above toni's head, just like the football being kicked.

the flying object brought her mind back to the present where she was supposed to be photographing the game at hand.

she brought the camera up to her face and started to take some pictures of the players before searching for more.

toni started to move around the track, stopping occasionally to take some photos for the school's newspaper and social media. she then made it over to the student section she was just previously at, and turned her back to take some pictures when she heard screeching behind him.

the scoreboard is still impressive, riverdale high leading by four touchdowns and they're on the last quarter. 

stonewall prep looks a little defeated, she has to admit, scanning across the opposite bleachers. most of them have cleared out and she can make out only a few hundred fans coated in burgundy and navy blue still cheering.

the team, on the other hand, are ravenous. they're sick of being beat and toni watches them huddle, tense shoulders and grim expressions.

her attention flickers to archie for all of a few seconds, seeing his number seven uniform at the front of their own huddle, blue bandana cloth tied to his hip, before it goes back to the intense pointing of the stonewall team towards them.

veronica's stomach begins to sink and she watches with fear pounding at her temples when they line back up for the play.

reggie's now the running back and toni watches as the ball gets thrown to **chuck,** who dodges several of the stonewall players and throws it perfectly to archie.

she counts the seconds that archie soars across the field, feet deft and perfectly agile, but even the best of players can't avoid every hit. the stonewall prep player is steadily catching up to him and there's another one coming from the side.

toni knows he's gonna get blindsided, she can feel it, and knows veronica can also, and before she even watches the collision toni could hear a yelp from the mess of people in the middle of the stadium, watching as all the football players in the middle crouched to the fallen teammates aid.

as the stonewall prep player that tackled archie to the ground had been rejoicing a little too hard, he failed to take notice that his team had stopped their cheers as well, realizing too late that the fall had been too serious to start it up again.

the crowd came to a stop.

"ANDREWS!!!"

it's only his sixth game as the main QB, but coach was pleased with his performance during summer training, and decided to promote him to starter for the beginning of the new season since their former one had died.

**coach clayton** had told him to keep up his admirable work ethic both on and off the field and he'd be good to go by the time the recruiters started scouting prospects for the next year or two.

it's been sound advice so far; the team is five-zero-zero and the rush that comes with consecutive wins is undeniably enjoyable. something about a stadium full of people chanting and cheering them on causes his pulse to race and makes him want to prove how ready he is to fill in the substantial shoes left behind.

he doesn't let it get to his head, though.

that's never a good idea. it's a home game tonight, but a tough one; the stonewall stallions aren't a particularly skilled team, no better than them, but are infamous for their rough takedowns and cheap shots slid in behind the refs' backs.

coach has prepared them and, during his pre-game pep talk, warns them to keep cool and focus on playing fairly and well.

then it happens: reggie and chuck slip up, can't block in time and number forty-five, a linebacker for the opposition, breaks through, heading straight for him who's now unprotected.

shit. archie knows the guy's probably got at least three inches and thirty pounds on him, and he's been roughing them up all night, not caring if his elbow 'accidentally' catches a chin or two.

archie knows he can't deke in time and tries to prepare himself for the hit, closing his mouth and waits until... crunch. forty-five's helmet plows into his chest, arms wrapped around his midriff in a death grip as he hauls him down, making sure he lands directly on top of him, whose head whips back into the ground.

"ANDREWS!!"

archie is completely disoriented for a moment, and thinks that's going to be the worst of it, until he realizes he can still feel the guy's weight along the length of his body. blinking rapidly, he squints up through his face mask as the other leers at him.

he can barely remember coach running over with an assistant, carefully helping him to stand, and leading him back to the bench where he takes off his helmet and ducks his head down, ignoring the _'brush it off'_ comments directed his way.

god, he feels sick now; his head is pounding and his stomach churns uncomfortably.

and somehow, he can't quite accredit it to the possible concussion taking its toll on his body.

"you okay?"

he was used to being on the bench. **kevin** wasn't needed unless coach called him over for a field goal. there were games where he followed along but coach clayton wasn't the most creative strategizer.

it was always the same plays, which is probably why the team didn't win often. riverdale's bulldogs' were the most predictable team in all of new york.

today's game was uneventful so far.

kevin was trying to pay attention since his dad happened to be in the stands today. after the game, he knew his dad would want to talk about what went wrong. there were only so many topics his dad was passionate about - and Kevin's sudden burst of joining the football team happened to be one of them.

the problem was nothing interesting is happening and they were well into the fourth quarter.

"yea, i'm good just..." archie rubs his chest a little and kevin feels bad.

he can see veronica and betty trying to get by the other teammates, assistant coaches and student trainers in order to check up on him but can't seem to push their way through.

"alright, you're good to go."

receiving a pat on his shoulder, kevin saluted archie back out onto the field. kevin let out a heavy sigh as the people on the benches behind him jumped up and down, making the most obnoxious sounds possible, watching as the cheerleaders did the same, bouncing around and waving their pom-poms like a bunch of idiots.

it amused him, really, how much energy they had.

it had to have been nine o'clock and they had been going at it since the beginning.

they didn't even look like they were sweating.

when reggie or chuck were benched, kevin at least had someone to talk to about the game, though most of the time they would complain or joke together about having a gay guy on the team.

today all the football players are on the field except him. he's riding the bench with the freshman who don't get to play often either.

to pass the time, kevin starts scanning the stands.

the visitor bleachers are relatively empty now since stonewall prep is still down by a lot.

he recognizes a group of southside serpents, who take their rivalry with the footballers way too seriously, sitting at the top.

closer to the front are some parents and family of the team. there are fellow classmates too.

unfortunately, the kicker can't always save the game.. kevin knows this, as the stallions kicker misses the field goal by a long shot. he winced, especially not when the score is slightly over thirty points different.

the visitor team calls for a timeout, which seems ridiculous to kevin since they are so clearly going to win this game.

all of the riverdale players come off the field briefly to rehydrate and watch the huddle taking place across the field. his fellow teammates were grumbling about their opponents but kevin was focused on the boy walking down the bleachers towards the field.

from here, he was hard to see but there was no way to miss those black ripped pants.

kevin was about to stand up and go after the boy but coach was eyeing him so he stayed put. the rest of the game goes exactly as he pictured: he stays on the bench, the bulldogs move a few yard lines, the other team continues to loose albeit playing unfairly, and the stonewall prep stallions ultimately loses as the riverdale bulldogs takes home the win.

typically, kevin waits until the rest of the football team is showered and dressed before going to the locker room so it's not surprising for his dad to meet him at the field after a game.

but sheriff **tom keller** is very familiar with the field as he stops to clap coach clayton on the shoulder and murmured some encouraging words before sitting beside his son on the bench.

"shame, you didn't get to shine today."

"it's not a big deal, dad." kevin assures him. "im going to head to the showers."

kevin actually heads to the building but is constantly looking for the boy in ripped pants. the crowd isn't thick anymore but it's still a lot of people to sort through. luckily, kevin finds him.

hey doesn't mean to just blurt something out but it happens. "i didn't know serpents were interested in mangy muts on a field."

the boy chuckled. "yea well, i'm just here to support a friend"

kevin just smiles. "i never heard you cheer?"

fangs shrugged, hands in his serpent jacket. "we were once on opposing teams, remember?"

_"frankie,_ we were never on opposing teams."

fangs rolls his eyes. "fine, competing gang wars."

kevin just waits for fangs to continue, but in walks jughead. betty is already hanging off of his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear at the big win.

when sweetpea returned back from hiding under the bleachers with a glare, he could see that the game was over. the score up on the board explained why the vixens were leaning enthusiastically against each other. the crowd and the cheerleaders on the opposite side of the field were much more despondent.

"i guess they won," sweetpea said.

"yea," jughead answered, without enthusiasm.

"i need a drink," sweetpea said, with feeling.

"good idea," he heard from fangs.

followed by, "i concur," from kevin.

jughead was the only one who didn't appear to be affected by the result, but that was just because he was more nonchalance to begin with and sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.

instead, he and betty stalked off towards archie's truck.

"that was..." kevin trailed off, obviously unable to find a good word to describe the game.

"pathetic," sweetpea finished, feeling indifferent.

"yeah, pathetic, that's it," kevin agreed, and heaved a big sigh.

fangs smiled. he was actually quite sweet like this - like he needed a hug to make it all better. not that he was about to offer, and certainly not in front of other people, even if they were their friends. especially if they were their friends.

"so, i guess i'll just go and get dressed and i'll meet you guys at the.."

"the whyte wyrm."

"the whyte wyrm." kevin reiterated with a nod. "gotchu."

kevin felt a rush of both relief and excitement as he turned around to leave for the locker room, when he passes by veronica waving to him.

she's grinning at him from the sidelines as he walks over. archie's a sweaty, dirty mess from the game and he knows how his hair will be plastered to his head in places and sticking out in others from his helmet. maybe he should do this later, after he's showered and changed. but he might miss her if he waits and he doesn't think he can wait until fifth period AP LIT come next week monday morning.

she sees the other cheerleaders with their hands covering their mouths, whispering and giggling as he approaches and archie sucks in a breath for courage as she walks away from them, her shoulders squared and her hands clasped behind her back but wearing a shyer smile now and starting to blush.

"you did amazing, babe." the latina complimented.

they locked eyes. both looking at each other lovingly, yet neither seemed to acknowledge it, thinking how amazing the other looked under the stadium lights. both eyes were full of awe, similar to the night they first met on the roof. archie opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out so he laughed softly before trying again.

"t-thank you."

archie broke their eye contact as he put his hands on either side of veronica's face, leaning in to close the gap between them.

veronica tightened every muscle in her body in shock before melting back and into the kiss, wrapping her arms around archie's neck. after a few moments they separated, and touched their foreheads together softly, both laughing and their faces turning red from the cold and blush that had spread across their faces like wildfire.

"disgusting."

with furrowed eyebrows, archie peered over veronica's shoulder to see cheryl rolling her eyes.

"don't worry about her arch, she's still upset about not being invited to _lodge lodge."_ veronica reassured the redhead, nimble fingers threading through his hair.

but he is too focused on the other redhead shuffling pass them, varsity cheer captain bag hanging off her shoulder. though she is walking with her head held high, ponytail and loose curls swinging from left to right, he can't help but to watch her.

she is all fire and power, noted, envied and awe'd by all.

even through her humiliating rejection of being invited to _lodge lodge_ she stood tall and took the embarrassment wholeheartedly.

her current situation, niggling headache and constant concentration, forces the radioactive weight in her chest to begin a furious reprisal of its angry waves, and she breathes slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth to dampen it.

she grinds her teeth.

it's not an hour later when the redhead is freshly showered and out the locker room sporting grey sweats and tennis shoes. no ones ever seen her so causal, and the looks she receives makes her feel even more powerful. inferior to all because she knows of the leering eyes on her. of the whispers and exchanged lows of _"hmmps"_ and _"ughs"_ with nasty eye rolls and back turns, but cheryl doesn't care.. she's rich and she's hot, and that seems to be the biggest crime in america.

as she's walking across the almost empty parking lot leftover with bulldogs, barking and hollering about tonight's win while the parents or staff sit back annoyed at the view.

"fuck."

her car is parked so far away, still close to the stands while people she knows pile around it and she already guesses what it's about.

"ready for tonight's party, bombshell?"

reggie is leaned against her car with one of her vixens, **tina** wrapped underneath his arm. they're smoking and sharing a beer with chuck and a few other bulldogs with more vixens and cheryl scowls.

"no."

"awe, c'mon why not?" chuck questions and it grinds cheryl's gears.

her jaw tightens. "im not interested."

"well why don't you get a load of this shit!" reggie belted out, distracting the others from cheryl's decline, removing his arm from around the vixen and turning towards the stadium. "lone serpent."

having a clear view of what reggie was shouting at, the sight of the serpent pressed against the wall of the concession stand filled cheryl with a buzzing feeling she couldn't quite place. flightiness? giddiness? excitement? she pushed it aside and used the adrenaline from it to push her bag higher up her shoulder with a clear of her throat.

tina reached over the small space between them and slapped reggie on the arm. "leave her alone. they wasn't bothering nobody."

"that doesn't mean they get to just come up in our school or stake any claims on our ladies."

cheryl rolled her eyes at the displayed show of toxic masculinity, but of course tina liked it. for the girl leaned even more into reggie with a lovesick puppy look on her face.

"okay, we get it. you're threatened by the serpents, now can you get off my car so i can go home."

her arms are crossed, chest puffed and face stolid as she stares at them expectantly.

"bombshell can't hang anymore?" chuck smirks at her as he chews on a cherry twizzler strand. "what happened to the old cheryl?"

"she died." cheryl deadpanned.

though the others may take her response as a joke, cheryl did indeed feel like she died and hasn't been revived yet. her heart had been written off and shattered a year ago after the death of her twin brother, jason.

"fine, you go home and be lame and depressing, then."

the sound of reggie's voice snapped her from her slight reverie, and she took a deep breath.

"gladly." the redhead grumbled back.

they're gone from her car faster than she can blink, though she can still hear the hoots and shouts coming from chuck's pick up truck as they speed off in the night.. making sure to disturb the serpent still underneath the stands.

not only was it sketchy that they decided to look up at the same time, but they made eye contact, which made toni look away immediately and recoil into the protection of her curtain of hair, her face contorted into something similar to dread as she looked over the many pictures in the camera.

cheryl only sneered, disgust still plain on her face and of course she’s going to pretend like she didn’t just see her only moments ago. wether in the stands, on the track or just right now.

"oh, it's just you. figures." she scoffed, looking away and crossing her arms tightly albeit the fluttering in her stomach.

_"nice to see you too, cheryl."_ toni grumbled, still looking away and partially hidden.

the cheerleader looked at her in even greater disgust and toni prepared for the worst.

a goddamn child, she is.

the two women were utterly besotted with one another, and yet couldn't stand the sight of each other.

although they weren't standing face to face, they were still holding the other's gaze - it was a contest of wills, no doubt about it, and cheryl had no intention to lose another battle.

"southside scum at a bulldogs game, the resentment is truly delicious." cheryl playfully remarked, momentarily letting go of her bitchy façade to return the wonderful albeit only occasionally reciprocated flirtatious banter that the two had perfected over the last handful of days.

toni's smirking again, sarcastic with her _i don't give a shit_ shrugs and cheryl rolls her eyes. she should've known it wouldn't last.

the bastard can't help herself.

"so, where are your chums?"

not feeling up to explaining why jughead and betty just road off into the sunset, or why fangs and sweetpea decided to leave her at the school while they went to go get drunk with the sheriffs son, toni says nothing, just tilts her head to the side a little further and continues watching cheryl. a strange curiosity.

_"the sadistic, intelligent, vengeful and forbidden kind."_ toni noted.

she hadn’t forgotten about the little power play show cheryl displayed earlier either.

cheryl wanted so desperately to smack that look off of her face.

to knock her to the floor, unconscious.

and, naturally, toni didn't hate cheryl. truthfully her hatred steamed more towards the redheads uptight attitude, the complete lack of compliance within her, the blatant disrespect and the persistent dismissiveness, no matter to who or what the situation calls for.

it wasn't just her haughty nature, the blossom woman seemed to have an aura comprised entirely of superiority complex issues. it wasn't even the way she enunciated her every word, putting an almost annoyingly amount of effort into speaking as clearly as possible - although toni should've known she'd talk this way judging by her textbook perfect posture that she refused to drop at any moment.

"i need to use the restroom," she suddenly says defensively.

cheryl pushes past her and goes inside the bathroom while toni sighs, standing outside the door. the commotion around her is growing in the stands instead of settling and she shakes her head. not afraid to be seen within the same vicinity of the bombshell, but not sure how others would take it.

_"should i even go in here?"_ toni thought knowing that the sexy she-devil was in there, also.

giving up, she walks in and immediately there is no sight of cheryl.

there were two girls at one end of the sinks, whispering to each other. one seems to be crying and when the door whisperes shut behind the serpent, they look over their shoulders, clearly startled and embarrassed, and quickly clear out.

_"no, cheryl."_

she slides into a stall and locks the door behind her when she hears a door swing open. click, click, click. it was her. it was cheryl, she knew it.

toni peeks her eye through the door gap, and _holy shit!_ those were some nice heels. like something straight out of a display window. something way too rich and way too expensive for her taste, but also simple so toni doesn’t know what to think of them.

she watches, like the fucking creep she is, the suede blue sneakers meet in the middle to stand primly and at attention.

toni was turned on by their powerful aura.

many months had passed since that night, but she still wasn't sure if she wanted to trust her own good judgment.

the faucet gushes and toni flushes. her tan cheeks pink, stomach queasy, mouth hung open and releasing a shaky yet steady breaths, and panties unbearably tight now. when the water turns off, toni zips her lips shut. it's loud in the small empty bathroom and she stands stolid in the stall, only moving quietly to place both of her burning hands on the cool door to normalize her steaming body.

shit! she's supposed to be outside near the gate to meet her photographer teacher about the camera, yet her she is.

_vzzt. vzzt._

"what is it, veronica?"

toni stared through the stall gap, squinted eye making out cheryl running her fingers down the length of her hair and toni suddenly had the urge to yank it.

_"um.. i just wanted to call and say how sorry i am about not inviting you to lodge lo-.."_

"hold." cheryl demanded. "is that what you're really calling about, veronica? or is it something else?"

_"well no, but-.."_

"but nothing. if you were really so apologetic about lodge lodge, then-.. never mind," cheryl shook her head. "i don't even know why i'm explaining myself here."

veronica is silent through the phone, giving cheryl clear invitation to continue her onslaught.

"let me make this clear. i am not nor will i ever be, devastated about not being invited to _lodge lodge."_ her neck is rolling with almost every word, and toni is awestruck. "i would rather much scrape the rotting gum off the bottom of every high school desk than to be caught, dead or alive, in the same room as four hyper sexual straight people on a thanksgiving weekend."

but she's knows that's where the core four is right now.

lounging around and listening as veronica gets chewed out by cheryl, though they can't bring themselves to feel any sort of discomfort.

it's selfish.

she hangs up, but not even a minute later is she dialing another number.

cheryl doesn't know why she still had jughead's number saved after years of resentment, but the act of ruining their couples night together rages excitement in her soul.. so she calls him up and without a doubt, is ready to wreck havoc.

it rings for a moment, and cheryl waits patiently until jughead's voice is through.

"how's the lake house, are you all settled in and spooning yet?"

she internally cringes after saying it.

_"uh.. who is this?"_

"it's cheryl.. you welfare baby." she enunciates, like it's a god-giving fact that she is cheryl blossom, and those that doesn't know must be living underneath a rock.

_"is something wrong?"_

cheryl looks up at herself through the mirror and quirks an eyebrow. "not yet!" and it's almost sung. "i just want to make sure that you know betty and archie kissed in front of my house right before the game and it seemed pretty serious.. like with tongue serious."

she waits to gauge his reaction, but he is just as silent as veronica.

having been satisfied with ruining his already somber mood, cheryl perks back up. "that's all, enjoy your couples only weekend. kisses to all, bye now!"

the line went dead before jughead was able to comprehend anything, and cheryl hums her rejoice at having shared that information with him.. hopeful that after thanksgiving break, they'll be ruined.

when toni can't wait any longer, she unlocks and pulls back the door. it slams against the adjacent stall door.

cheryl is still there, like toni hoped she'd be. but she knew she would be. cheryl is leaning on her hands on the counter now, like she was waiting. but waiting on who and what?

they make eye contact in the mirror, and suddenly toni is like a deer stuck in headlights at the pure, unadulterated want in cheryl's face reflecting at her.. basking in the thought that she knew the pinkette would follow her into the restroom.

she was standing there, completely and perfectly still. toni had never been more still in her whole life. she was so still that she wasn't even sure she was still breathing, yet toni hadn't bother to check.

_"did she just tell jughead that betty and archie kissed?"_ toni questioned.

she's almost ninety-nine percent sure the redhead did.

_"but did she at least have a reason?"_

once again, toni is left to her thoughts about the redhead.

turning towards cheryl, toni glanced at her expectantly.. watching as the redhead fluffed out her hair and despite how much toni hated how her heart accelerated and her palms began to sweat as those dark brown eyes full of annoyance and hate stared back, she had smiled.

"what are you looking at _creep?!"_

cheryl applauds herself for sounding so harsh and calm at the same time, yet she can’t help the nagging in her chest that maybe this.. wasn’t a good idea.

it’s no secret to toni that cheryl was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, in photos and even more in person. her skin was clear, flawless. her lips were full, naturally plump without the need of botox fillers. her teeth were perfect, brightly white and straight. her eyes were a deep chocolate brown, which gave away the emotions she was feeling inside.

toni's giving her that _"are you okay?"_ look because clearly she knows that cheryl's in a lot of pain.

she ended up moving too quickly for cheryl to comprehend the soft touch of a warm palm on her forearm. toni's hand burned through the thick woven cotton fabric of cheryl's sweatshirt, igniting her skin and setting her ablaze.

"get your sapphic serpent hands off my body!" cheryl scolded, slapping toni's hand away from her forearm with a force so powerful, toni thought she'd break her wrist.

she hated to admit how wonderful those fingertips had felt against her skin.

there was another long pause. both of them were expecting toni's answer.

"just what is your problem!?" the redhead grumbled in annoyance, and took a staggering step back. "why won't you leave me alone?!"

toni held her gaze. she had to admit that while it was fun screwing around with cheryl she was growing impatient and she'd thought the girl would have made a move by now. she was totally in to her right? there was no other explanation.

circling the tile, toni made her way over to cheryl who's stance was that of someone hesitating between standing their ground and backing away.

_"i don't have a problem with you."_

the serpent reaches out to touch cheryl again, fingertips just a hair away before-

"don't fucking touch me!" cheryl growled back roughly.

this was when they both looked at each other. but, for the first time, toni couldn't decipher cheryl's eyes. it was like it wasn't her. like she was a stranger.

and while toni knew she was a complete stranger to her, cheryl was a total mystery she couldn't wait to solve.

toni is looking at her with fire and cheryl is cowed by the suddenness of her demeanor, yet all cheryl did was chuckle sweetly, though there was nothing sweet about it. more so if a menacing giggle that peaked the serpents interest.

"toni topaz. you mustn't know that i, cheryl blossom, am the queen of destruction."

cheryl took a demanding step forward, yet toni did not falter.

"i don't simply ask to destroy ones life, i simply do."

everyone knows that making and hiding secrets runs in cheryl's family and she's the one toni steps towards with, burnt the care out of the other girls like acid to the face.

"you better get on your knees and pray." cheryl continues, hands on her hips. "i know everything. every lie. every secret. who you love and who you hate. who you'd kill and who you'd save. i can destroy you. each and every single one of you filthy, low-life scumbag snake, and i'd take my time,"

cheryl suddenly wishes she had fangs, sharp and shallow teeth to bare to show the other girl just how badly she fucked up by following her to riverdale and to her school.

"i am going to make you regret everything you've ever known, until you're utterly alone and miserable." the redhead smirks. "that's immortality, _bitch!"_

and while toni wasn't surprised or disappointed. she just never understood.

you see, there seems to be this power struggle between cheryl and toni. they'd only known each other for all of two weeks, yet it seemed like a lifetime with how much shit they were getting themselves into.

cheryl demanded control, strived on the fear of others in order to keep herself afloat. and toni didn't take shit from anyone, sure she was silent and quite sarcastic, but don't let her pretty face and small body fool you.

she didn't bow down to no one, and that made cheryl hate her even more. it didn't even matter if she was a serpent or not - well, it did - but toni was refusing order and slowly but surely cheryl was falling off her pedestal.

and the redhead be damned if she were taken out by a serpent.

they stared at each other in an odd way, as if it were a silent argument. their glances battling each other.

until cheryl faltered.

"you haven't told anyone, have you." her voice appears small. "a-about us?"

being this close, she could see there was no pity or amusement in cheryl's expression. though there was a pang of worry in her eyes and a bit of anxiety that was exuded in the form of a rubbed wrist, and toni found herself staring longer than necessary at long pale fingers, shifting and trailing across the skin of the woman's wrist.

toni stilled the movement by interrupting, sighing, crossing her arms and kicked at the air.

_"how could i?"_ she shook her head _no._

and it's not even the fact that she was ashamed of her one night stand, everyone has them and everyone has thought about them. it's not even about the fact that her biggest heartache was a blossom, because believe toni when she says family hatred means nothing to her. it's the fact that, with this beautiful once ago stranger to toni, is now in front of her.. begging, pleading, to hear some reassurance.

cheryl scoffed but refrained from responding. she was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach and knew the pinkette had something to do with it.

toni had only started at this school for the first time that year, and a few weeks had already passed. it was their second year to last of high school, and she had hoped for a peaceful year of loneliness.

she practically hated people on the northside and she hated being the centre of attention after the death of her brother. but she quickly came to realize that the moment she had walked through the double doors of riverdale high school for junior year, she had piqued the girl's interest in her apparent immunity to the pinkette's charm.

there wasn't a day that went by that toni hadn't been ambush by the redhead's presence after class, during breaks or after school.

it was so damn annoying, yet relieving at the same time.

toni just felt she couldn't get rid of cheryl blossom.

not only because the redhead was persistent with keeping their socials distant, but because she was painfully attracted to her.

sure, she didn't get down on her knees for cheryl like everyone else did, but that didn't mean she wasn't physically interested in doing so. she found her body so attractive and had been dreaming the most lewd and naughty things about the schools bombshell.

though she would never admit it or ever give in to her desires.

toni knew she already annoyed cheryl too much.

thinking about that made toni swallow.

there was a sudden tightening in her pants, and she shifted to try and stop her excitement from building.

as she was fixing her hair once again, cheryl looked through the mirror to see toni smile innocently but there was a naughty gleam in her eyes, and she wondered how the pinkette managed to look so innocent and so damn naughty at the same time?

that had to be one of cheryl's biggest weaknesses when they first met, and just the mere thought of the serpent girl like this-..

_vzzt.._

brown eyes flicker to the sleek device sitting precariously on the edge of a polished porcelain sink, a few inches from where cheryl set it when she sat down to check herself in the mirror just minutes ago. she studiously ignores the sound of someone attempting to get her attention, pretending the buzz of her phone is nonexistent. sometimes if she ignores a problem, it goes away.

_vzzt.._

or maybe not.

cheryl hears the click of her teeth as her jaw clenches - the residual anger from her previous conversation with the sender rolls through her - but she takes a deep breath, relaxes her shoulders and goes to reach for her phone.

but before her fingertips could even grasp the vibrating device, another hand - much darker and slimmer - wraps its own slender fingers around it and yanks it off the sink.

cheryl is all the more angrier.

she hates it when people touches her things.

"give me my phone!"

with a growl she launches herself towards the serpent, but the girl is too fast, already side-stepping out of the way with cheryl's phone now behind her back and a playful smirk on her lips.

she snaps. "why the fuck won't you leave me alone? jesus fucking christ, i'm sick of this shit."

_"sick of what, exactly?"_ toni tilts her head questionably.

_sick of what._

_me? life? yourself? friends? family?_

_this goddamn town?!_

_the death that follows afterwards?!_

or

_sick of the haunting memory that we know each other?_

all of those questions roamed toni's mind as she clenched cheryl's phone tighter in her hand, also ignoring the buzzing. she's knows how fucked up the situation is, and how it can turn out to be. but it isn't her intention to out the information to everyone, nor to ever let anyone know that she knows cheryl blossom. and that she knows toni topaz.

like everything else unnatural in riverdale, it'll start a slew of unanswered questions.

"you're not supposed to be here!" the redhead whined.

_"i know that princess."_ toni sighed, but it's not like cheryl was supposed to be there either. the pinkette reasoned.

cheryl was just as much in fault as her.

_"if only we'd been truthful."_

they could’ve avoided this. all of this. the secrets and lies, the misunderstanding and impending hatred. but there’s never a part of toni that wishes she never met cheryl last summer, though she can’t say the same for the redhead herself.

toni does wonder though, if they’d never met, if cheryl would still hate her the same.

suddenly, cheryl is invading her personal space and toni stifles a gasp, body tending and relaxing at the same time.

the familiar smell wafted into the room. an unknown breeze pushing it under toni's nose and tempted her to fall for a single moment.

_"perfume, of course. it was always perfume."_

it was nothing like she's ever smelled before, but she knew it dearly; held the memory of it close to her heart. when the world outside of it seemed too distant and too chilled and too dangerous. the smell was warmth. of a beautiful summer day trapped in a world of unending winter.

she remembers when she first smelled it; a moment of calm.

_vzzt.._

**veronica lodge**  
how could you do this?!  
_-sent: 10:56pm_

the sweet sound of silence envelops her when the phone stops vibrating with a series of purposely unread and unanswered texts/calls, and all cheryl can think about is how close she is to toni.

she gets a whiff of her scent - cocoa butter. it's sweet like honey and smooth like shae butter, and it's all the more powerful and delicious.

this new sliver of insight makes cheryl confused and light-headed when she blinks the glaze away from toni and her focus returns fully on the phone, but still.. their closeness only increases her sense of unbalance.

cheryl stands up a bit straighter, moving her hand swiftly through her hair with a sigh of complete frustration. irritatedly, she sees that toni's smirk grows wolfish in front of the evidence of her discomfort.

toni was a tiny slip of a thing. the kind of girl that could get away with anything she wants just because she appeared so sweet and innocent despite her bad girl persona clothing. there's a ripeness to her and cheryl just knows there's an edge in her voice from how many cigarettes she smokes a day.

for such a frail girl, toni was kind of bad ass; cheryl thought and she liked that. she liked that very much. there's not another one like her; cheryl knew. with her caramel skin, brown-almond shaped eyes, brown hair and stand out faded pink-ish highlights.

cheryl eyes fluttered closed at the feeling memory of those soft lips pressed against her skin, and when toni lifted her head, the longing expression on her face sent a rush of warmth through cheryl's body.

and, even though cheryl still really would have preferred not to consider the reaction too closely, when toni's tongue peaked out to wet her lips, the way cheryl's stomach tightened and the image of toni kneeling between her legs that formed in her brain left no choice but for cheryl to admit that what she was feeling, and had been feeling all evening, was arousal.

and yet, she never had sex fantasies about josie. or anyone else for that matter, but even in her dreams it wasn't just about the sex. it was about something more. something cheryl had never experienced before.

"jusqu'à la prochaine fois," she whispered, her lips only inches away from toni's ear.

toni didn't say anything, she stood there stunned, her cheeks tingling and as she watched cheryl turn away and flounce out of the restroom with the door shutting silent behind her, she felt certain of one thing: fuck.

**-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow it's been over almost two months. but like i said, i will never abandon this. I MUST FINISH. it may be slow going, but i'm always thinking about finishing this. please just bare with me....
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter. and again, i’m so sorry i left it for over a month.
> 
> but please, leave a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> -moonlight (twitter: planetgenz)


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